The House of Commons has stated that it was compelled to raise the salary of a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick, regardless of the MP’s wishes. In a sworn statement submitted to the Federal Court, House clerk Eric Janse emphasized that all MPs must receive the stipulated amounts as outlined in legislation, and any deviation from this would be unlawful and inconvenient.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson had filed a judicial review application in June to challenge the $8,800 raise approved by Parliament. In response, 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 specific administrative actions by House staff to calculate and maintain a separate sessional allowance for him annually for the duration of his MP tenure. The base salary for MPs was $208,900 last year and increased to $217,700 on April 1, in line with federal legislation that ties MP pay adjustments to private-sector salary increases.
Dawson has expressed his belief that accepting an $8,800 raise amid financial challenges faced by many Canadians is unjust. Drawing on his experience as a business owner, he highlighted the simplicity of deducting federal taxes from employee wages electronically and questioned why refusing a pay raise should be more complex.
Despite donating his raise to charity, Dawson has advocated for the right to voice objections to the raise entirely. House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia’s spokesperson, Olivier Duhaime, noted that Scarpaleggia and Janse were unavailable for interviews on the matter. Duhaime mentioned that comprehensive legal arguments in the case are anticipated to be submitted within the next two months.
