The House of Commons states that it was obligated to increase the salary of a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick, regardless of his willingness to accept the raise. According to an affidavit submitted in Federal Court by House clerk Eric Janse, all MPs must receive the specified amounts outlined in legislation, and any deviation from that would be unlawful and impractical.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson sought a judicial review in Federal Court in June to prevent Parliament from granting him an $8,800 salary increase. In response to this, Janse filed an affidavit last month, asserting that the sessional allowance for the applicant 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 House staff to engage in additional administrative tasks specifically for him, involving the establishment and maintenance of a separate calculation of his sessional allowance on an annual basis for the duration of his term as an MP.
Last year, the base salary for MPs was $208,900 and increased to $217,700 on April 1, in line with federal legislation that ties MP pay adjustments to a formula based on private-sector salary raises.
Dawson believes it is inappropriate to accept an $8,800 raise at a time when many Canadians are facing financial challenges. Drawing on his experience as a business owner, he highlighted that deducting federal taxes from employee wages is a straightforward process and should not pose significant complexity.
Despite donating his raise to charity, Dawson insists that he should have the right to voice his objection to the raise entirely. House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia and Janse are unavailable for interviews on the matter, as per Olivier Duhaime, a spokesperson. Full legal arguments for the case are anticipated to be submitted within the next two months.
