by Online Staff
Cypress Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes penned a letter calling on fellow politicians to stand in solidarity with hard-hit business owners and take a 20 per cent pay cut. Barnes letter was released following the province’s more restrictive measures to address COVID-19 in the province.
“I am calling on my colleagues; all Alberta politicians, including Alberta’s 34 Members of Parliament to take an immediate 20% pay reduction for the next six months,” Barnes wrote in a post on Twitter.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation applauded Barnes request and called on all Alberta politicians to take action on it.
“MLA Barnes deserves a lot of credit for asking his colleagues to share in the difficult times and accept a 20 per cent pay cut,” said CTF’s Alberta Director Franco Terrazzano in a media release. “Albertans are struggling, and this would show taxpayers that our elected officials are willing to share in the tough times and understand the difficulties that we are going through.”
Alberta MLA’s currently receive $121,000 annually, roughly $16,000 more than the Ontario-West average when Alberta is removed from the equation. A 20 per cent cut would reduce MLA salary to $96,800 or by $12,100 for the six months in Barne’s request.
“Alberta’s politicians need to stand with struggling families and businesses, do the right thing and accept Barnes’ proposal for a 20 per cent pay cut,” Terrazzano said.
