Ontario MPPs were making about $88,000 dollars in 2006, and then they gave themselves a raise. A year later they are making about $112,000 dollars – that is nearly a $24,000 dollar pay raise! Someone working at minimum wage would have to work sixty hours a week for fifty two weeks of the year without vacation to make $24,000 a year (and that is before tax). Most people working minimum wage jobs in Ontario will never make $24,000 a year. The argument for the pay raise was to keep Ontario MPPs salaries on par with the Federal government to attract the best people to the Ontario Legislature. The problem is there is no proof that a higher salary will attract the best politicians. A good politician works for the people and not because of the money. I think politicians do deserve to get paid a fair salary, because I don’t think politics should just be for those who are independently wealthy, after all their pay cheque should make them accountable to their constituents. MPPs didn’t just give themselves a $24,000 raise, they raised minimum wage too in January 2007. Minimum wage was raised to $8 an hour, and that is a raise of twenty five cents an hour. Could you imagine if workers could vote themselves pay raises like politicians? If that ever happened, the world would run out of money. Politicians shouldn’t be giving themselves raises, instead it should be regulated by the law and raises in both minimum wage and a MPPs salary should be on par with the rise of inflation. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty might not agree on the minimum wage issue, after all social advocates are calling for a minimum wage of ten dollars an hour, because ten dollars is considered a living wage. But the far right and the far left can both agree that Ontario MMPs gave themselves a ridiculous pay raise. Some MPPs gave their raise to charity, but those who voted for it should have kept the raise, because why else would they have voted for it unless they really needed the extra cash? If our MPPs didn’t need the extra money they should have voted against the pay raise, but they didn’t, and that is why politicians shouldn’t vote on their salary at all.

-Jason Setnyk