The House of Commons has emphasized that it was compelled to raise the salary of a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick, regardless of the MP’s preference. House clerk Eric Janse stated in an affidavit submitted to the Federal Court that all MPs must receive the specified payments outlined in legislation, and any deviation from this would be unlawful and impractical.
Conservative MP Mike Dawson of Miramichi-Grand Lake had sought to halt the $8,800 raise awarded to him by Parliament through a judicial review application filed in June. In response, Janse filed an affidavit last month asserting that the sessional allowance for the applicant must be paid in accordance with the amounts mandated by the Parliament of Canada Act, including relevant annual adjustments.
Granting Dawson the option to decline the raise would necessitate special administrative actions by House staff to calculate and maintain a separate sessional allowance specifically for him each year for the duration of his tenure as an MP. The base salary for MPs was $208,900 last year and increased to $217,700 on April 1, in line with federal legislation linking MP pay to a formula based on private-sector salary increases.
Dawson expressed his belief that accepting an $8,800 raise amid financial challenges faced by many Canadians is unjust. He compared the simplicity of deducting federal taxes as a business owner to the ease of adjusting pay electronically for MPs. Despite donating his raise to charity, Dawson argued that he should have the right to refuse the raise entirely.
Both House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia and Janse declined to provide interviews on the matter, according to Olivier Duhaime, a spokesperson. Full legal arguments are expected to be submitted in the coming two months in the ongoing case.