Three days before the end of parliamentary work, the elected members of the National Assembly voted on Tuesday to grant themselves a 30% salary increase.
• Read also: How much will your MP earn after the 30% pay rise?
Thus, MPs will receive a minimum increase of $30,000, but the majority will get much more, depending on the bonuses associated with their various responsibilities. Prime Minister François Legault, for example, will receive $62,000 more annually.
The increase applies immediately.
The government’s bill was supported by the Liberals, as well as independent MP Marie-Claude Nichols. Québec solidaire and the Parti Québécois opposed it.
Few deputies were however present during the roll call in the Blue Room. Mr. Legault as well as ministers François Bonnardel and Kateri Champagne Jourdain were on the ground due to the major forest fires in northern Quebec.
The minister responsible for the file, Simon Jolin-Barrette, was also absent at the time of the vote.
This 30% increase was proposed by a committee chaired by human resources specialist Jérôme Côté. The Legault government had given him the mandate to reassess the salaries of deputies, which has been debated for years in Quebec.
“Catch up”
Although it is indexed, the CAQ and the PLQ argue that the salary of elected officials must be better aligned with the conditions of the public and private sectors.
“I don’t see why the private sector, the public sector would pay more than politics. We must value the role of deputies”, recently pleaded François Legault.
The interim leader of the PLQ, Marc Tanguay, also notes that the deputies are less well paid than the most senior leaders of the public service. He therefore supported “catching up” with this job category.
Uncomfortable supporters
Despite their opposition to the bill, some Québec solidaire MPs will keep part of the increase voted on Tuesday, while others will donate it entirely to charitable organizations.
Elected in Maurice-Richard, Haroun Bouazzi is one of those who will keep part of the increase, despite his “discomfort with the process”.
He assures that he will be transparent about the amount donated. “It’s not discussions I’m going to have with you, it’s discussions I’m going to have with my wife. And that concerns us, how are we going to arrive at the conclusion of the money that we are going to give? Obviously, I think everyone understands that family finances are something that is settled in the family,” he said Tuesday morning.