The House of Commons has stated that the salary increase for a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick was necessary, regardless of the MP’s desire to decline the raise.
According to an affidavit submitted in Federal Court by House clerk Eric Janse, all MPs are mandated to receive the specified amounts outlined in legislation, and any deviation from this would be unlawful and inconvenient.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson had filed a judicial review application in June to prevent Parliament from granting him an $8,800 raise. In response, Janse filed an affidavit last month affirming that the sessional allowance for the applicant must be paid in accordance with the Parliament of Canada Act, including annual adjustments.
Granting Dawson the option to refuse the raise would entail significant administrative efforts for House staff to maintain a separate calculation of his sessional allowance each year for the duration of his term.
Last year, the base salary for MPs was $208,900 and increased to $217,700 on April 1 as per federal legislation that ties MP pay adjustments to private-sector salary increments.
Dawson has expressed his belief that accepting the raise is inappropriate given the financial challenges faced by many Canadians. As a business owner, he finds the process of deducting federal taxes straightforward and believes rejecting the raise should be equally simple.
Although Dawson has been donating his raise to charity, he asserts that he should have the right to object to it entirely. House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia and Janse have declined to comment on the matter, with full legal arguments expected to be presented in the coming months.