The House of Commons has stated that it had no alternative but to raise the salary of a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick, regardless of the MP’s preference. House clerk Eric Janse, in an affidavit submitted to the Federal Court, explained that all MPs must receive the specified amounts as outlined in the legislation, and any deviation from this would be unlawful and impractical.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson had sought a judicial review in the Federal Court in June to prevent the $8,800 raise from being implemented. In response, Janse filed an affidavit last month stating, “The House Administration believes that the MP’s sessional allowance must be paid in accordance with the Parliament of Canada Act, including all relevant annual adjustments.”
Granting Dawson the option to decline the raise would necessitate special administrative actions by House staff to manage a separate calculation of his sessional allowance annually for the duration of his MP tenure. The base salary for MPs was $208,900 last year, and it increased to $217,700 on April 1 this year, in accordance with federal legislation that indexes MP pay to private-sector salary increases.
Dawson has expressed his belief that accepting an $8,800 raise amidst financial challenges for many Canadians is inappropriate. Drawing from his experience as a business owner, he highlighted the simplicity of deducting federal taxes from employees’ pay and suggested that rejecting the raise should be equally straightforward. Despite donating his raise to charity, Dawson advocated for the right to object to the raise entirely.
Olivier Duhaime, a spokesperson for House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia, mentioned that neither Scarpaleggia nor Janse would provide interviews on the matter at this time. Full legal arguments for the case are anticipated to be submitted within the next two months.