The House of Commons has stated that it was necessary to raise the salary of a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick, regardless of the MP’s 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 outlined in legislation, and deviating from this would be both illegal and impractical.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson had filed a legal challenge in June to prevent Parliament from implementing the $8,800 raise for him. In response, Janse filed an affidavit last month affirming that the sessional allowance for the applicant must be paid in accordance with the Parliament of Canada Act, including any applicable yearly adjustments.
Granting Dawson the option to refuse the raise would necessitate House staff to carry out individual administrative tasks specifically for Dawson, creating a separate calculation of his sessional allowance each year throughout his term as an MP. The base salary for MPs was $208,900 last year and increased to $217,700 on April 1 this year, in line with federal legislation that ties MP pay adjustments to private-sector salary increases.
Dawson has expressed his disagreement with accepting the $8,800 raise at a time when many Canadians are facing financial challenges. Drawing from his experience as a business owner, he highlighted the simplicity of deducting federal taxes from employees’ pay and suggested that declining the raise should not be a complex process. Despite donating his raise to charity, Dawson believes he should have the right to object to it entirely.
Neither House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia nor Janse have agreed to provide interviews regarding the case, as stated by Olivier Duhaime, a spokesperson for the Speaker. Full legal arguments for the case are anticipated to be submitted within the next two months.