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Should MLAs get paid more? Independent review committee seeks public input
Base salary of $85K was established during last review in 2007
The base annual salary of an MLA is now $85,000, although the premier, cabinet ministers and certain other office-holders get paid more.
The legislative administration committee — an all-party committee of the legislative assembly — has appointed the two-member committee to review and make recommendations on salaries, as well as the "additional indemnities for parliamentary office holders," and the benefits of MLAs who have responsibilities under the Executive Council Act, the legislative assembly announced Thursday.
Retired judge Margaret Larlee and lawyer G. Robert Basque will also review "the basis for future compensation adjustments, the annual constituency office allowance of each MLA to cover rent, the salary of an assistant and office expenses, and the per diem and transition allowances," according to a news release.
Citizens or organizations have until June 10 to submit comments in writing or over the phone to the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.
Pay went up recently
The review comes after the Higgs government decided in March to give the premier, ministers and certain other office-holders a raise by allowing a provision of the Executive Council Act that kept their pay below 2016 levels to expire.
Premier Blaine Higgs saw his total salary jump by $11,850, while most of his ministers got hikes of $5,251, thanks to the expiry of a 2017 law.
The legislative administrative committee has requested the review committee submit a report with recommendations by the end of September.
The report is expected to become public later in the fall, when the house resumes and it is tabled.
Issue hasn't been studied for 15 years
If the committee recommends changes and the legislative assembly agrees to adopt those recommendations, legislative changes will be required.
The last MLA compensation review was in 2007, when the current base salary was established.
Compensation commissioner and former New Brunswick Court of Appeal judge Patrick A.A. Ryan recommended that all MLAs receive a base annual salary of $85,000, after seeking public input.
"He also recommended that certain additional amounts be paid for such positions as premier, minister of the Crown, leader of the official Opposition, Speaker, deputy Speaker, leader of a registered political party represented in the legislative assembly, house leader and whip," according to the news release.
Automatic raises frozen
MLAs are supposed to get automatic pay raises every two years, based on the GDP, but the Liberal government of Shawn Graham froze MLA pay at $85,000.
In 2015, the Gallant Liberals then cut cabinet salaries, saying the reduced pay would remain in place until the budget was balanced.
In 2016 and 2017, the Liberals forgot to pass legislation to override the law giving MLAs automatic pay increases. They introduced legislation to retroactively re-freeze the MLA pay at $85,000 and extended the reduced ministerial salaries until March 31, 2021.
Last year, the Higgs government extended the cabinet pay cut to March 31, 2022, which it then allowed to expire.
Liberal Leader Roger Melanson condemned the pay hike at the time, noting some public sector unions in the province recently agreed to contracts that adding up to 15 per cent pay raises over five years.
"He's giving himself 15 per cent, April 1, right away," Melanson said at the time. "Premier, are you having a hard time to pay the cost of living? Is that what it is? Because a lot of New Brunswickers are, and they're not getting a 15 per cent pay increase April 1."
Higgs defended the move. "What have we really done? Gone back to 2016 levels," he said, not mentioning that salaries were higher then.
In Nova Scotia, the base salary of MLAs is $89,234.90. The base salary for P.E.I. MLAs is now $76,439.84, after they received a 2.75 per cent raise in January, the largest increase they've received in 15 years.
"In order to determine whether it is now appropriate to adjust the salary amounts established in 2007, as well as the allowances under review, the committee is seeking input from the public," the New Brunswick news release issued Thursday states.
People can submit comments in writing to the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick by mailing P.O. Box 6000, Fredericton, N.B., E3B 5H1; email leg-consultations@gnb.ca, or phone 506-453-2506.
Committee members
Larlee served as the first woman appointed as a judge of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick from 1998 until her retirement in 2019.
She spent 11 years working in private practice and for the provincial government. In 1985, Larlee was also the first woman appointed as a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick.
Larlee was co-chair of the New Brunswick Electoral Boundaries Commission in 2006 and has played an active role in the Canadian Chapter International Association of Women Judges.
Basque is a partner at the Moncton law firm of Forbes Roth Basque, specializing in areas such as administrative, employment and labour law.
During his career, Basque has served as president of the Law Society of New Brunswick and has participated in a compensation review process for Moncton city council.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-ministers-salary-increases-1.6402478
N.B. ministers' salaries set to rise as pay freeze ends
Opposition blasts change that will see Higgs' salary jump by $11,850
Premier Blaine Higgs will see his total salary jump by $11,850, while most of his ministers will get hikes of $5,251, thanks to the expiry of a 2017 law.
Liberal Leader Roger Melanson fiercely condemned the pay hike, noting some public sector unions in the province have recently agreed to contracts that add up to 15 per cent pay raises over five years.
"He's giving himself 15 per cent, April 1, right away," Melanson said.
"Premier, are you having a hard time to pay the cost of living? Is that what it is? Because a lot of New Brunswickers are, and they're not getting a 15 per cent pay increase April 1."
Liberal Leader Roger Melanson condemned the pay hikes for Premier Higgs and his ministers. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Higgs defended the decision as one that simply takes his salary and that of his ministers back to what they were six years ago.
"What have we really done? Gone back to 2016 levels," he said, not mentioning that salaries were higher then.
The government is letting a provision of the Executive Council Act expire that was keeping salaries below where they were in 2016.
All MLAs get a base $85,000 salary which will not change under the expiration of the clause, though an all-party committee of MLAs is currently studying whether they are due for a raise.
But premiers, ministers and some other office-holders get extra pay on top of that.
Ministerial salaries will jump from $47,353 back to $52,614 for a total of $137,614, while the premier's, now $67,150, will return to $79,000 for a total of $164,000.
The expiry of the cabinet pay reduction, and the study of MLA salaries, marks the end of a series of convoluted and symbolic measures over the years designed to show that politicians were willing to apply financial restraint to their own incomes.
The Liberal government of Shawn Graham first froze MLA pay at $85,000 and the Gallant Liberals made the cut to cabinet salaries in 2015, saying the reduced pay would remain in place until the budget was balanced.
Then in 2016 and 2017, the Liberals forgot to pass legislation to override a law giving MLAs automatic pay increases.
They introduced legislation to retroactively re-freeze the MLA pay at $85,000 and extended the reduced ministerial salaries until March 31, 2021.
Last year the Higgs government extended the cabinet pay cut to March 31, 2022 – the measure it is now allowing to expire.
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