The House of Commons has stated that it was obligatory to raise the salary of a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick, regardless of his willingness to accept the increase. In a sworn statement submitted to the Federal Court, House clerk Eric Janse emphasized that all MPs must receive the specified payments as outlined in the legislation, and any deviation from this would be illegal and impractical.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson had sought a judicial review in the Federal Court in June to prevent Parliament from implementing the $8,800 salary increment, to which Janse responded with an affidavit last month. The House Administration maintains that the sessional allowance for the applicant must be paid in accordance with the amounts prescribed by the Parliament of Canada Act, including all relevant annual adjustments.
Granting Dawson the option to refuse the raise would necessitate specialized administrative actions by House staff solely for Dawson to calculate and maintain a separate sessional allowance each year for the duration of his tenure as an MP. The base salary for MPs was $208,900 last year, increasing to $217,700 as of April 1 this year, in line with federal legislation that indexes MP pay to a formula based on private-sector salary increments.
Dawson opposes accepting the $8,800 raise citing the financial struggles faced by many Canadians. He argues that as a business owner, deducting federal taxes from employees’ pay is a straightforward process and should not be overly complicated. While he has been donating his raise to charity, Dawson asserts that he should have the right to object to the raise entirely.
Despite the controversy, neither House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia nor Janse have agreed to provide interviews on the matter, as confirmed by Olivier Duhaime, a spokesperson for the Speaker. Full legal arguments in the case are anticipated to be submitted within the next two months, according to Duhaime.
