In Ontario, Premier Mike Harris cut MLAs' salaries by 4.8 per cent, including benefits, to $88,865 from an estimated $93,389. Ontario Members get an average $24,000 more than I do, and our cost of living is 20 per cent higher.
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And the public should know that the work of an Ontario MLA is no different than ours. As a matter of fact, the workload is likely less because they have a lot more Members than we do. Here, we have to carry the load on all issues, each individual.
I got elected to put my experience to work, and work it is. The hours around here are no piece of cake. Ask the media representatives who work alongside of us here at the Legislative Assembly. Since I was elected, I have worked the straight eight months at least six days a week, 11 to 12 hours a day. On Sundays, I do my homework to catch up from the past week and prepare for the upcoming week, and I can vouch that everyone here puts in the same hours, some even more. It strains family relationships.
The job of an MLA is unlike any other trade or profession. Members must deal with an increasingly wide range of issues and concerns. The MLA must act as legislator, negotiator, ombudsman, social worker, public relations officer and perform many of the tasks at all hours of the day and night. It is a demanding vocation. I have been required to become an expert on financial restraint, government operations, aboriginal concerns, constitutional development, division of the NWT, affirmative action, business incentive policy, municipal governments, school boards, hospitals, social agencies, chambers of commerce and various volunteer organizations. In addition, I must represent my constituents in a multitude of ways and resolve all kinds of problems.
This job is a huge invasion of our privacy. People expect us to be on call 24 hours a day. Every time there is a raffle ticket to be sold, we get asked to buy some. If constituents have a problem, they come to us. Let me tell you what happened to me two weeks ago; it happened to four MLAs from Yellowknife two weeks ago. A local organization sent us a fax two days prior to a meeting, inviting us to attend, and when I say us, I specifically mean me. I telephoned that organization and left a message that I had committed two months previously to attend another function that night. I asked that my apologies be passed on and that it would be mentioned at the meeting that I could not attend. The day after the meeting, a newspaper report complained that no Yellowknife MLAs attended. Even the editorial referred to our lack of attendance. I phoned the executive director and asked why we were singled out. Well, she hadn't checked her messages until the day after the meeting. I am here to serve. I will attend meetings when invited but, please understand, our schedules, from time to time, may conflict.
When I made a representation to the commission on MLAs' salaries, here is part of what I told them when they asked about salaries: "Many undertake public life at considerable personal sacrifice to themselves and their families. There is no job security. The workload is ever increasing. This Assembly will be busier than any previous one. Some serve at financial cost to themselves as a result of loss of income that may have been derived from business, professional practice or service with government in some senior administrative capacity, and many put their careers on hold while serving in public office.'
"The cost of living in the North is much higher than such places as Ottawa, Toronto, Victoria and Edmonton. Therefore, a comparison of MLAs' salaries and pensions should reflect the higher cost of living."
With regard to the matter of pensions, we have eliminated the supplementary benefit that was in place. That was the portion that the public had a problem with. In essence, what we have done is reduce our pensions by 60 per cent. With regard to the report of the Commission on MLA Compensation, the major recommendations dealing with salaries and pensions have already been dealt with. It has been made clear to me that many Members need the time to look carefully at the recommendations and how they fit in with the new way the Assembly has been operating.
I want to thank the staff of the Legislative Assembly and of the various departments that appeared before us in committee meetings and so forth, for their dedication and all the hard work that they've put in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho.
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