Commission seeks public's views on N.W.T. MLA pay, benefits

Now's your chance to have a say on what your MLA is earning. 

The N.W.T. Independent Commission to Review Members' Compensation and Benefits is getting underway by asking for public input.

According to the commission's website, it "is appointed by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories to review the salaries, benefits, allowances, and expenses that are received by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly."

You can write a letter, an email or arrange a telephone or video meeting to have your say. Find all the details here. 

Former N.W.T. premier Joe Handley is chair of the commission, which he makes up alongside Glenn Tait and Janet Toner. 

Handley said they've already met with several MLAs, who feel their pay and benefits are good, but "they do feel that there are some areas where there needs to be more clarity or fair distribution on things like allowances."

Overall, he doesn't expect to be recommending any dramatic changes. 

"It's probably tweaking a lot of the current salary and benefits and the pension," Handley said. 

N.W.T. MLAs are among the most generously paid in the country. 

MLA pensions addressed during budget deliberations

Earlier this year, Yellowknife North MLA Rylund Johnson suggested reducing the generosity of MLA pension plans in his reply to the budget address.

"For some reason, I get a pretty good pension if I do this for eight years, a pension it would take many in the public service 25 years to earn," Johnson said on Feb. 12.

Johnson pitched the idea as a way to clear a path to build political capital, and start making tougher decisions on what the government can't do. "We can't afford many of the things that this assembly wants without giving others up," he said.

• Here's a look at what your N.W.T. MLA is paid, and how it's calculated

No further steps on the idea have been publicly taken. 

An independent salary review commission is struck roughly every four years to produce recommendations on MLA compensation.

Reviews of member pay completed in 2014 and 2018 did not result in recommendations to reduce either pay or benefits.