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JARVIS: Ontario MPPs must reject April 1 pay raise

They didn’t even bother to ask the taxpayers who are footing the bill

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Watch your wallets because provincial politicians are trying to take another big pay raise.

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After giving themselves a massive pay hike last year, members of provincial parliament are trying to double down on yet another raise.

JARVIS: Ontario MPPs must reject April 1 pay raise Back to video

Taxpayers are sick of politicians borrowing billions and hiking taxes so they can line their pockets with big raises. And we have a legislature that is supposed to consult with the public before passing bills.

But Ontario Premier Doug Ford, interim Liberal Leader John Fraser, NDP Leader Marit Stiles, and Green Party Leader Mike Schriener conspired to undermine that process and give all MPPs a 35% pay raise last year.

They didn’t even bother to ask the taxpayers who are footing the bill.

MPPs getting boost in April

In the matter of about 10 minutes, a bill was tabled and passed that gave MPPs a massive salary hike, brought back annual pay raises and also brought back their gold-plated pension plan.

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Only politicians have the ability and the nerve to take a 35% pay raise without consulting the people who pay them.

MPPs are now taking yet another salary boost this April, raising their pay by 4.2%.

MPPs will get a $6,609 taxpayer-funded raise this year, but many will pocket an even bigger raise. The premier’s salary will run taxpayers for an extra $11,849, while his 28 ministers will make an extra $9,404 and his associate ministers an extra $7,878.

Opposition leaders who collaborated with Ford’s team to give MPPs pay raises will themselves take an extra-large raise this year. Stiles’ will take an extra $10,256 this year while Fraser will take an extra $8,968.

Hardworking Ontarians struggling to make ends meet can’t afford to see their tax dollars being siphoned off into the pockets of those who are supposed to represent them.

Two in five Ontarians say they are $200 or less away from not being able to pay the bills every month.

In the past five years, food bank usage has increased by 165%, with one in four food bank users being employed.

Ontarians have little confidence that the economy will improve, that life become more affordable and taxes will come down.

Try telling the countless families barely getting by that politicians who are already making more than three times the median income should get even more taxpayer dollars.

Especially when the government can’t even make ends meet without piling on debt.

The Ford government is borrowing $13.4 billion this year to keep the lights on. Add in spending from Ford’s ballooning capital budget and the Ontario government is adding $32.7 billion to our debt, hitting $459 billion this year.

That means every Ontarian’s per-person share of the debt is about $28,000.

Borrowing money to get raises

The province is spending $16.2 billion on debt interest charges alone this year, all because the government has failed to spend within its means in years past.

That’s about $1,000 per Ontarian being lapped up by bondholders and bankers this year instead of funding tax cuts or new schools.

At a time when government debt is fast rising, there’s no justification for borrowing money so MPPs can get themselves a raise.

Federal MPs are also taking an April 1 pay raise, but some are pushing back. Conservative MP Mike Dawson has decided he will reject his pay raise this April. Dawson said he found it “distasteful” that MPs would take such a raise while the average Canadian is struggling to get by.

Dawson’s respect for taxpayers is admirable.

Politicians would do well to take a page out of Dawson’s book. Being a politician should be about public service, not a big paycheque.

MPPs need to reject their looming pay raise in April, stop focusing on raising politician pay and start working on leaving more money in taxpayers’ pockets.

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