NOTE:The following commentary was published in the November 3rd edition of the Calgary Herald.
Times when the legislature doesn’t sit are traditionally easy times for a governing party. No Question Period, just funding announcements and ribbon cutting ceremonies. Despite these advantages, the Alberta PCs have seemed intent at every turn to shoot themselves in the foot over issues that shouldn’t take a crystal ball to figure out where the public stands. The latest was one was once again on MLA pay.
Like the charge of the Light Brigade, when hapless British officers ordered their troops to make a suicidal attack against the well-defended Russian guns, government MLAs have charged straight against predictable public outrage.
Less than 24 hours after federal MPs had been whipped into submission by angry taxpayers over their platinum-plated pensions, it dawned on the PCs that they should snatch a piece of the cake for themselves. The man responsible for party discipline in the PC caucus, whip Steve Young introduced a motion at a committee that would double taxpayers’ contributions to MLA RRSPS, eliminate MLA own contributions, and reintroduce severance payments under a new name.
Wildrose and NDP members voted against the cash grab while the Liberals abstained.
Now back up a month.
At an earlier meeting of the all-party committee responsible for deciding on MLA compensation issues, the PC members had requested time to consult with their caucus over the various options on the table. Presumably, the PC members on the committee consulted their caucus during that month. Presumably, they were speaking on behalf of their caucus when their party whip introduced a long and detailed motion that was clearly written in advance.
Presumably not, we’re told. After himself being whipped by a predictable public backlash, party whip Steve Young gave a head-scratching set of contradictory answers that seemed – at least on average – to pour cold water on his own motion for doubled RRSPs and reinstituted severance payouts. He was just putting ideas out there. No big deal.
Premier Redford – who promised during the election to scrap severance payouts – said that she had no idea that her MLAs would try to bring it back. Presumably, her own party whip had gone rogue.
And so the charge of the Light Brigade beat a hasty retreat back to their trenches as the Premier punted the issue back to the committee.
This Tuesday, the committee meets again to re-debate the issue it has already debated, and re-vote on the issue for which it has already voted.
Reinstituting severance payments went over like a lead balloon with taxpayers and so the premier dropped it. With that caper gone, will the PCs try to pass off the doubled-RRSPs with zero MLA contributions as a deal for taxpayers, relatively speaking?
The doubled RRSP play would remove MLAs from having any responsibility at all for their own retirement plans and give them an effective 8 per cent pay hike.
The government may be about to step in another one if they think taxpayers should put some $23,000 into a MLA’s RRSP, while MLAs put in $0.
The British figured out pretty quickly after their suicidal charge that doing so again was probably not a good idea.
Tuesday’s committee meeting will be an indication if the PCs have learned a similar lesson.
Alberta Director Derek Fildebrandt
