The House of Commons stated that it was mandatory to raise the salary of a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick, regardless of the MP’s willingness to accept the increase. House clerk Eric Janse emphasized in a court affidavit that all MPs must receive the specified amounts as outlined in legislation, and any deviation from this would be unlawful and inconvenient.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson sought a judicial review in Federal Court in June to prevent Parliament from giving him an $8,800 raise. In response, Janse submitted an affidavit last month stating, “The House Administration asserts that the applicant’s sessional allowance must be paid according to the Parliament of Canada Act, including all relevant annual adjustments.”
Granting Dawson the option to reject the raise would necessitate special administrative actions by House staff to calculate and maintain a separate allowance for Dawson each year for the duration of his term as an MP. The base salary for MPs was $208,900 last year and increased to $217,700 on April 1, following a formula tied to private-sector salary increases as per federal laws.
Despite the raise, Dawson believes it is inappropriate to accept an $8,800 increase at a time when many Canadians are facing financial challenges. He compared the simplicity of deducting federal taxes from employees’ pay to the ease of halting a pay raise electronically, emphasizing that he has been donating his raise to charity but desires the ability to decline it entirely.
House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia’s spokesperson, Olivier Duhaime, mentioned that Scarpaleggia and Janse declined to comment on the case. Full legal arguments are anticipated to be presented in the coming months.
