The House of Commons states that it was compelled to raise the salary of a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick, regardless of his desire to decline the increase. According to an affidavit submitted in Federal Court by House clerk Eric Janse, all MPs must receive the specified amounts as outlined in legislation, and deviating from this would be unlawful and inconvenient.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson filed a judicial review application in Federal Court in June to prevent Parliament from granting him an $8,800 raise. In response, Janse filed an affidavit last month asserting that the sessional allowance for the applicant must be paid according to the Parliament of Canada Act, along with any applicable annual adjustments.
Granting Dawson the option to refuse the raise would necessitate House staff to undertake special administrative measures solely for Dawson to calculate and maintain a separate sessional allowance total each year during his term as an MP.
Last year, the base salary for MPs was $208,900, which increased to $217,700 on April 1. MP salaries are adjusted based on a formula linked to private-sector salary increases.
Despite the raise, Dawson believes it is inappropriate to accept the $8,800 increase when many Canadians are facing financial challenges. He compared the process to deducting federal taxes from employees’ pay as a business owner, emphasizing that it should be straightforward.
Dawson, a first-term MP, has been donating his raise to charity but insists that he should have the right to object to it entirely. House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia’s spokesperson, Olivier Duhaime, mentioned that Scarpaleggia and Janse declined interview requests on the matter. Full legal arguments for the case are anticipated to be submitted within the next two months.
