Ontario MPPs poised to get a pay increase

This doesn't look very good for Ontario's Progressive Conservatives and the New Democrats.

On a day both parties should have been pouncing on the governing Liberals about a report regarding new gas plant allegations, it's them that are on the defensive.

According to the Toronto Star, lawmakers in Ontario are poised to get a 6 per cent salary increase (which works out to about $7,000/year) because the Tories and NDP wouldn't unanimously support a Liberal Party motion to extend a five year salary freeze that is set to cease on April 1st.

The opposition parties claim that the Liberals are simply playing politics.

"They've got two police investigations on them, a whole bunch of scandals lined up behind them from eHealth to the gas plants scandals, and this is an attempt to take the attention off what is a pretty bad record on the part of this government," NDP house leader Gilles Bisson said last week, according to the Canadian Press.

"They're trying to position themselves on a populist message in light of what could be an election this spring."

[Related: New gas plant allegations involve Dalton McGuinty aide ]

For their part, the Tories say they're not accepting the Liberal's resolution because they want a debate about an across the board wage freeze which includes all of the public sector.

It's a position supported by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

"This wage freeze will save taxpayers approximately $390,550 in 2014. Heck, you could make every MPP work for free and it would only save taxpayers $12.5 million. These are drops in the bucket of the $11.9 billion provincial deficit," Ontario CTF Director Candice Malcolm, wrote in a blog post last week.

"The real problem for taxpayers in Ontario is covering the tab for compensation packages of over 1.35 million provincial government workers in Ontario, and the vast benefits that exist in the Ontario Public Service. Employee compensation accounts for half of the provincial budget, without including most pension costs.

"If the Ontario government were to actually, honest to goodness, freeze all government employees wages for the next year, it would save taxpayers an estimated $2 billion."

[ Related: Ontario is financially much worse off than California: report ]

Of course, taxpayers would be interested in saving $2 billion. But they certainly don't want to see their MPPs get a pay increase — in light of an $11 billion deficit — come April 1st.

The Liberals have said that if their motion isn't passed, their MPPs will repay their raises.

If the Tories and NDP insist on calling this gamesmanship, they should know that the Liberals are winning this game.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

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