Province's MLAs defy law by refusing mandatory pay review

It's a question so controversial New Brunswick MLAs have been defying the law to avoid asking it.

What are their jobs worth?

Despite no pay raises to their $85,000 salaries in nine years and two rounds of cuts to their pension plan since 2008, MLAs have been refusing to launch an independent review of their compensation and benefits — even though they are legally required to.

"It came due after the last election," Speaker of the Legislature Chris Collins acknowledged Wednesday of the required compensation review.

But he said MLAs did not want to proceed.

"There's no appetite. No one around the table is looking at this and saying 'hey you know what, it would be a great idea to give ourselves a raise here.'"

Review not optional

MLAs may have been reluctant to have their pay assessed, for fear it would call for a politically unpopular increase, but the compensation review is not supposed to be optional. 

It was written into the Legislative Assembly Act in 2008 and requires that a study of MLA pay and benefits "shall" be undertaken following the 2014 election.  

According to University of Ottawa constitutional law professor Sebastien Grammond, MLAs do not have the authority to ignore the statute, even if they disagree with it.

"The Legislative Assembly must follow the law," Grammond said Tuesday.  "It may also change the law but it must do so explicitly."

The mandatory salary and benefit review for MLAs and related positions, like Premier, Cabinet Minister, leader of the opposition and others was legislated following the recommendation of retired Justice Patrick Ryan who headed a one-person compensation commission for New Brunswick MLAs in 2007.

'Adjusting compensation internally and without scrutiny gives, rightly or wrongly, the impression of maladjustment.  Transparency is the keyword, accountability its companion."- Justice Patrick Ryan

Ryan said attaching appropriate levels of pay to elected positions was critical to attracting good people to run for public office and said MLAs should not be the ones to tamper with amounts — up, down or sideways.

"Adjusting compensation internally and without scrutiny gives, rightly or wrongly, the impression of maladjustment.  Transparency is the keyword, accountability its companion," wrote Ryan in his final report which advised generous, but not extravagant pay.  

"The purpose is to attract quality candidates.  The levels must not be golden nor can they be tin."

Freeze on pay hikes

The basic salary for an MLA was set at $85,000 in 2008 at Ryan's recommendation with annual escalators in place meant to add to that amount in years where New Brunswick's economy improved.

Those escalators have entitled MLAs to seven pay hikes since 2008 but none were granted because, contrary to Ryan's recommendation, both the Alward and Gallant governments have stepped in to prevent them.

"Government will continue to freeze MLA salaries for the ninth consecutive year," Finance Minister Cathy Rogers announced during this year's budget speech in the latest political intervention to halt any pay hikes.

The suppression of MLA pay in New Brunswick has generated no public outcry but experts say it should.

"Salary matters," said Universite de Moncton's Donald Savoie.  "Salaries need to be adjusted.  If taxpayers can pay a medical specialist $1.5 million they can pay their Premier and MLAs a decent salary."

UNB political scientist J.P. Lewis agrees. 

"You want your best and brightest to be attracted.  I've always thought politicians should be compensated well to hopefully attract those people," said Lewis.

"It's incredibly important to get people of good quality,"

If the legislation requires this review and it hasn't happened that doesn't speak well of how the Legislature manages its business.- Tom Bateman, political scientist

St. Thomas University political scientist Tom Bateman said it is irresponsible for MLAs not to launch an independent compensation review if that is the law MLAs themselves created.

"If the legislation requires this review and it hasn't happened that doesn't speak well of how the Legislature manages its business," said Bateman.  

"Over nine years inflation has taken real value out of their salary so they have been experiencing a real decline in compensation and it's reasonable for someone periodically to review these and see if adjustments can be made."

Government spending increased

Since 2008, inflation has increased 16.3 percent in New Brunswick, eating away at what the position of MLA pays. That was meant to prove government is serious about fiscal restraint and set an example for others, but the effect is difficult to document.

During the period MLA salaries have been frozen, annual New Brunswick government spending has increased 27.8 percent and the province's debt has nearly doubled to $14 billion.

Collins said he doesn't see the failure to launch a compensation review to be a violation of the law because the legislation is not specific on how quickly after the 2014 election it must happen.

"I'm not saying something like that won't be considered in the next year and a half but it may not.  It may be in a few years time," said Collins.