Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I am pleased to speak to Bill 73, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 4. This bill would adjust the indemnities and allowances listed in parts 1, 2 and 3 of Schedule C, annually using the average change in the consumer price index over the past five years.
Currently, indemnities and allowances for Members of the Legislative Assembly are adjusted each year on April 1st based on the CPI for the previous calendar year. If the status quo is maintained, MLA indemnities and allowances will increase by 6.8 percent on April 1 of this year. However, if Bill 73 passes and a five-year rolling average is used as the basis for the adjustment, that would reduce the adjustment from 6.8 percent to 3.02 percent. This method is used in Manitoba and smooths out temporary spikes in inflation like we are seeing now. That concludes my remarks on Bill 73. Thank you, Madam Chair.