Québec solidaire wants to amend the salary increase for elected officials so that it applies only in 2026, after the next election.
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“There is no urgency to increase the allowance in the coming weeks, especially if the government justifies the adoption of an increase by recruiting candidates for the next election period. Supporting this amendment seems to me to be the bare minimum in the context,” writes the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Alexandre Leduc, in a letter addressed to his counterparts.
The left-wing formation opposes the 30% salary increase proposed by the Legault government. QS instead proposes entrusting the compensation review process to an independent committee, as the 2013 L’Heureux-Dubé report proposes.
Wednesday morning, the Parti Québécois said it was “rather for” the proposal of the solidarity. “The idea that it could apply to the next legislature is very interesting because it is not retroactive and it is not the current deputies who vote,” said MP Pascal Bérubé.
The Liberal Party, for its part, will study the amendment presented.
As for the Conservatives, they agree with the principle of the amendment proposed by QS. They even believe that the question of the salary of elected officials should be an electoral issue in 2026.
If Quebec still goes ahead with this bonus of a minimum of $ 30,000 annually, elected officials agree to “substantially increase the donations” they make to community organizations in their ridings.
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Value the function
A rare CAQ MP to speak on the subject on Wednesday, Joëlle Boutin for her part stressed that there is never a good time to improve the remuneration of elected officials. It takes “courage” to settle the case, says the member for Jean-Talon.
“We are not doing it for us or for the next deputies. We do it for generations to come. It is also a way of enhancing the function. It is a function that is important in our society, ”she pleaded.
“Filibuster”
In the meantime, QS has taken steps to stretch out the debates in the chamber, hoping to prevent it from being passed by the end of the parliamentary session on June 9.
During the debates yesterday, the parliamentary leader of the CAQ government, Éric Lefebvre, also confided that he had seen his mother only once in the last year, because of the demands of his job as an MP.
“It’s nonsense: $30,000 more won’t free up his schedule. I was not impressed by his argument,” said Alexandre Leduc.
The member for Hochelaga-Maisonneuve then clarified that work-family balance is “an important file for Québec solidaire”, but that the subject is not linked to the debate on the salary increase.
A few minutes later, Mr. Lefebvre briefly explained his remarks the day before. “All I wanted to do was set an example of work-life balance. This is an example that happened to me,” he explained.
With the collaboration of QMI Agency