BC’s Members of the Legislature unanimously agreed to freeze their salaries for 2023, and the BC Liberals House Leader says it’s the right decision.
Kamloops South Thompson MLA Todd Stone’s motion to freeze MLA wage increases, which are tied to inflation came during the final legislative meeting of the year Wednesday.
“There was a moment in the meeting where they actually wanted to defer the decision of this committee to the New Year and I inserted myself at that part and said, ‘No, we’re all here right now, this will take us 30 seconds. I’m moving the following motion.’ The speaker allowed the move the motion to go forward and I think at that point, the government realized the writing’s on the wall, better just get behind it and wrap themselves around it.”
Stone says his motivation to pause that wage increase is due to the historically high inflation rates, which would have seen all provincial elected officials get a 7 to 10 per cent pay bump in April next year.
“So if we round up to 10 per cent, that is $11,500 per MLA, that is the base salary. If you are a Cabinet Minister, you make another $65,000 to $70,000 on top of that and the Premier is double the pay from that.”
It would have increased base salaries from $115,000 to roughly $125,000.
Although the law linking MLA raises to inflation has been in the books since the early 2000s, Stone suggests nobody contemplated seeing inflation rise of this size.
“Very few British Columbians are getting a 7 to 10 per cent wage increase. That just ain’t happening, its the wrong thing to just sit there and not put your hand up and say ‘hey why don’t we freeze for this year and take a pass.'”
Depending on the economy, Stone suggests that freezing salaries beyond 2023 might be the move.
“If we find ourselves in a deep recession, like a lot of economists are saying we could be on the front end of come next February or March, then it might make sense for us to all agree to freeze the wages for a couple of years.”
When the next session starts in February, that is when Stone says they will amend the act to account for the salary freeze next year.
