Merde. Oh well, if that’s what it takes, then you should probably just consider this the declaration of my candidacy for the position of premier of Alberta. Er... on second thought, maybe that’s a little too drastic.
What a scam. A committee loaded with Progressive Conservatives approves lump-sum payments for MLAs for their committee work, which oh-so-briefly had Leader of the Opposition Kevin Taft earning more than Stelmach himself, which could not be allowed to stand, and so led to the Tory cabinet giving themselves a raise. (And bonuses for showing up for work!)
Hey, Alberta, you bunch of dummies, didja ever get the feeling you’ve been jobbed? Funny how the issue of raises didn’t come up during the election campaign, eh? Don’t look at me; I know what this bunch is like, and I don’t vote for them. You, on the other hand...
Hmmm... well, there’s not much point in getting mad at Albertans for voting PC. That’s like getting mad at poop for stinking. It’s just what happens.
And anyway, there’s the premier, offering a feeble justification for the raises, the ol’ “We have to pay well if we’re going to attract good people” line.
That’s a difficult principle to disagree with. Being an MLA is a tough job, especially if you try to do it well. Okay, not the part about actually showing up for Legislature sessions, of course, because while the Tories have been in power, the legislature has gradually come to sit less and less often for shorter and shorter periods of time. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of work to be done: there’s lots of studying—of issues, policy and whatnot. Then factor in all those committee meetings, caucus meetings, and meetings with constituents, all of which can take place at night or on weekends. In all seriousness, if you’re an MLA, seeing as you’re a public servant, there’s hardly ever a time when you could justifiably say that you’re not at work. So then, you might ask, what’s so feeble about the premier’s justification for his raise?
Well, for one, aren’t MLAs well-paid? Once you figure in all the perks that come with the higher-than-average salary—the car, the housing allowance, the one-third of your paycheque coming tax-free, the gold-plated pension at the end of your run—you can file it all under “nice work if you can get it.”
But okay, fine, let’s say that in order to truly attract the best and brightest (next time, perhaps, now that the pay is finally up to snuff) the backbenchers needed a raise, and so then did Stelmach, and also his cabinet.
Ahem, the backbenchers got a 4.5 percent bump. Who in this province, or this world, apart from those who control their own rate of pay, gets a double-digit pay raise, let alone one that fills their pay envelope by an extra third? And unless they were seeking to rub everybody’s nose in said pay raise, who does it via proclamation?
Stelmach’s retort: “If there is some better ideas coming from anybody that has a way of doing it differently, then I am open to listening to them.” Okay then, Ed, listen up. You have a huge majority in the legislature and on all the committees. You are the boss of most of those people. Yours is the only show in this town, and you run it. Really, where’s the danger in putting the matter up for debate?
Ah yes, the danger would be in encouraging those suckers who stubbornly insist on believing that democracy in Alberta might yet be resurrected.
