Quebec Politicians Might Give Themselves A $30k Pay Raise — To Over 3x Quebec's Median Income
An independent committee is recommending that Quebec National Assembly members get a $30,205 pay raise. That's a 29.7% increase from their current base salary of $101,561. The new annual base salary would be $131,766.
For context, the median income in Quebec was $39,300 in 2020, the latest year for which Statistics Canada has salary data.
The Quebec premier would get an even bigger bump, from $208,200 to $270,120.
In a press release, the independent committee says that "adequate working conditions," including an enticing salary, are necessary to attract a diverse range of candidates for public office. "Otherwise," the committee writes, "unsatisfactory working conditions discourage talent and democracy suffers."
To arrive at the proposed new base salary of $131,766, the committee started with what a consultant group determined to be the maximum salary for a "Class 4" pay range that includes CEOs, "Vice Presidents and Members of a Government Agency." That amount is $169,950.
The committee then subtracted $38,184, the maximum taxable expense allowance for members of the National Assembly (MNAs).
MNAs with additional roles get an additional amount. The premier makes the base salary plus 105%. Government ministers make the base plus 75%, which would bring their salary to $230,591 from the current $177,732.
The National Assembly will now consider the committee's recommendations.
But Québec solidaire spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is already condemning them.
"$30,000. For many people in Quebec, this is the salary for the year. Here, in the National Assembly, it is the increase proposed by a committee launched by the CAQ," he wrote on Facebook.
"I didn't go into politics to stand up in the Blue Room and vote myself a pay raise. I won't do it. Québec solidaire will vote against this proposal."
