Come and listen to a story about a man named…
The Calgary Sun is reporting that Alberta PC MLA’s have received over $1,000,000 in extra salary for Government Members committee work over the past year on top of their MLA base salary of $74,000. Here’s a list of some PC MLA’s and their extra collection:
CASH CROP
– Ray Danyluk – $47,132
Youth Secretariat
Advanced Education Comm.
N. Alberta Dev. Council
Court Workers Program Review– Doug Griffiths – $46,998
Standing Committees of the Legislature
Agenda and Priorities Comm.
Adv. Education Comm.
MLA Task Force to launch Rural Development– Carol Haley – $47,496
Standing Policy Comm.
Treasury Board– Denis Herard – $47,106
Comm. on Workers Compensation
Alberta Mental Health Advisory Comm.
Standing Policy Comm.– Ron Liepert – $40,381
Standing Policy Comm.
Trade and Transp. Comm.
Local Authorities Election Act Review
Regulatory Review Steering Comm.
Public Affairs Bureau Review
Alberta Film Commission– Rob Lougheed – $48,872
Standing Policy Comm.
Council of Status of Persons with Disabilities
MLA AISH Review Comm.
Treasury Board– Richard Magnus – $42,666
Standing Policy Comm.
Alberta Economic Development Authority
Treasury Board– Ivan Strang – $42,407
Standing Policy Committees
Endangered Species Conservation Comm.
Treasury Board– Len Webber – $40,500
P.I. and Security Guard Review
Healthy Aging and Continuing Care Comm.
Task Force on Continuing Care Standards
Alaska-Alberta Bilateral Council
You can take a look at all Government MLA committee appointments here.
This pointed out, I don’t believe that we pay our elected officials enough. With the current base salary looking like so…
MLA Indemnity – $49,836.00
MLA Tax Free Allowance – $24,918.00
(Total) – $74,754.00
…and MLA’s expectations to attend many upon many functions in their ridings and communities during their terms, the $24,000 tax free allowance disappears very fast. This said, I don’t think loading PC MLA’s with committee work or extra perks available only to Government Members is the solution to this problem. I would be very interested to know what type of work many of these committees have produced and if this work is actually worth the extra salary only available to Alberta PC MLA’s.
On a completely different note, the floundering Alberta Alliance held it’s AGM last weekend and elected a new executive headed by a familiar face. Randy Thorsteinson, founding leader of the Alberta Alliance and former leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party, is back as President. Thorsteinson left the Alberta Alliance leadership following his defeat against Innisfail-Sylvan Lake PC MLA Luke Ouellette in the 2004 provincial election. Cardston-Taber-Warner (and lone) Alliance MLA Paul Hinman was elected leader shortly thereafter.
