Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have feelings that reflect what Mr. Enuaraq just said, because I have basically the same type of comments or, you could say, misunderstandings in my region.
I still get calls at home when people have problems in the community because they think I am the mayor because I ran against the guy that was the mayor. I have also been asked, why is Jack Anawak still there when I'm supposed to be in Ottawa, so people are really confused as to just what I was elected to do.
Therefore, the salary concerns are basically in the same category. They really don't know and I don't think they are really that concerned about how much a person gets to be an MLA, provided you supply a reasonable and a good service to them. They expect that. I think the whole catch to the MLA salaries situation is that people are wondering whether or not you get more than what you're worth, and 1, like Tommy, don't have that problem. Mind you, when I arrived as an MLA, I did not know any more than, I suppose, Mr. Erasmus just what the salary was, because it seemed to depend on how many committee meetings you attended. There was a base salary suggested of $40,000, but all that information did not become available to me until after you got elected. So I didn't run for this seat for the money; that's for sure. I think, like many other people, regular MLAs and Ministers, we'll probably give up more than we're getting now.
The other comment I want to make is in regards to pensions. At the time I arrived as an MLA, even after I became an MLA, I was still not aware that there was a pension. I heard a lot of talk about a pension but I was not familiar with it, how it worked or when we got it. Now that I know how a person becomes eligible for a pension, under the existing system, it doesn't seem realistic or fair to a person who has been an MLA for only four years that all you get back is the money you put in. In other words, you have to win for two terms in order to be eligible for a pension. We were told that all you get back is what you put in. So, therefore, under the existing system, the pension is of no concern to me because I probably won't be eligible for it. In particular, after the way we've been eliminating many of our voters by eliminating positions, we have to do something now to justify the positions we cut in the government system. It's almost like justifying what we do rather than the other way around.
I have no problem personally with elimination of pensions or structuring it in such a way that it's more acceptable or more comparable to something like the Canada Superannuation Plan or retirement savings plan or whatever. I could live with that type of thing. I think the pension we have is a bit extravagant, to say the least.
But I do have a problem with reducing the salaries even though we reduce the salaries and benefits of the workers of this government. I would possibly consider a salary equivalent to what we were receiving in the past but do away with the pension section. I have no problem with that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.