Money shouldn’t be the motivator for attracting politicians

By Ivan Morgan

Work in Progress

MHAs are being told by a House of Assembly report that they deserve a $22,000 a year raise, up from the base of $95,000 they now make. Not to mention a yaffle of other perks.

The temptation is to make this an easy column. I could fill it with cheap shots like: they have the fewest number of sitting days in Canada (23 compared with Quebec’s 79); they have driven our deficit higher and higher for decades, not even beginning to deal with our provincial debt; that a whole bunch of them foisted Muskrat Falls on us (now all happily retired with very generous pensions); that the current crowd are cheerfully going back on a referendum they promised us. I could go on.

I also thought about running some of the comments made by people who come to the food bank where I volunteer. I wrote a lot of them down. Trust me, they are classic.

But I feel I owe it to the many poorly paid town councils across this province to showcase what they do, and for the most part do well, for very little pay. A compare and contrast, if you will.

If you are a regular Shoreline person you read a lot about municipal issues. Matters dealt with by elected counsellors – your neighbours and friends. These people make tough decisions every day that affect you personally, that shape your community, that provide the services your municipal taxes pay for.

Most of these people aren’t paid very well. They are not there for the cash, but because they are community minded, and want to give back to their neighbours.

The author of the House report, a career bureaucrat who works for the House, wrote “fair and reasonable compensation will assist in ensuring that people with diverse backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to seek public office.” The idea is a raise is healthy for democracy.

Poppycock.

Were I a town counsellor I would be insulted by this. How many of them are in it for the money?  Pay shouldn’t be the motivation for serving in the House. It sure isn’t in most municipalities.

Should MHAs be paid? Sure. Should the pay be reasonable? Again, sure. But that goes for everyone – pensioners, people on income support, people on disability funding.

MHAs want to be paid fairly so they can decide the rest of us are not. Is that too harsh? Ask a pensioner, a homeless person, a person looking for housing, a person waiting hours, weeks, months or years for medical care, or anyone else hung out to dry by shoddy government services. All victims of decisions made by MHAs.

I volunteer at a place that has many incredible volunteers. People from all walks of life who volunteer because they believe in what they are doing. They want to help, not make money.

I am not saying MHAs should work for free, I am saying that pay should not be their primary motivator.

Danny Williams never took a salary. Not a penny. I admired that. Still do. He was there because he wanted to give back. We aren’t all fabulously wealthy, but the idea is the same.  

The Province puts a cap on what town councillors can pay themselves. The Province passed legislation that forbids towns from running deficits. They have to live within their means and face the voter to explain their decisions. If only our MHAs had to take a page from the book they impose on municipalities.

If anyone – anyone – else performed as poorly as the last few governments, would they be  candidates for a raise? Is the House of Assembly so rarefied that they are above judgement? How useless do they have to be before the electorate does something about it? Like what? Here’s a hint, not give them a raise.

I think there is a brilliant opportunity for leadership in the House. Premier Andrew Furey denied a raise two years ago. What a chance to make a point. What a chance to win over voters. Imagine if opposition MHAs refused the raise, said they were paid enough, demanded the House be open longer. Demand they work more. Demand that promises made are kept.

Do you think the crowd that broke their promise about a referendum is going to care what we think about their raise?

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com