By COUNTER SIGNAL March 31, 2022
PM Justin Trudeau is giving himself and every MP a raise on April 1 — the same day he’s set to hike the carbon tax, leaving gas even less affordable.
As of April 1, Trudeau’s estimated salary will be $379,404, a $21,604 pay increase. Simultaneously, Ministers will see their salaries rise by an additional $15,865, while backbenchers and senators will be receiving a $10,802 pay hike — more than enough to keep politicians comfortable as inflation skyrockets.
Of course, the vast majority of Canadians are totally against this — but it will happen anyway.
According to a Canadian Taxpayers Federation Leger poll, 79 per cent of Canadians (nearly 8-in-10) are opposed to MPs receiving a third pay raise since the pandemic started.
“It’s wrong for politicians to pocket bigger paycheques while the people they represent suffer through a pandemic, pay cuts, job and business losses,” said Federal Director of the CTF Franco Terrazzano.
“It shouldn’t be rocket science for MPs to do the right thing and stop taking bigger salaries during the pandemic.”
He further calls the pay raise a “slap in the face” to all the Canadians who’ve struggled throughout the pandemic.
Of course, politicians aren’t the only government employees to receive raises throughout the pandemic.
As the Western Standard reported in January, 528, 347 federal and provincial government employees received raises since the pandemic began, all while restrictions were decimating small businesses.
“We’ve seen a tale of two pandemics: one full of private sector pain and the other full of financial gain for bureaucrats and politicians,” Terrazzano said at the time.
As Kevin Lacey, Alberta director of the CTF, explains, “We see this over and over again, as taxpayers struggle, government employees keep pocketing more. This is unfair, unjust, and has to end. As the (Jason) Kenney government tries to balance the budget, it’s essential to get control of runaway government employee costs.”
As already mentioned, Trudeau is hiking the carbon tax the same day as he receives his raise, and it is estimated that gas prices will rise by an additional $0.11 per litre, even though gas prices are already at record highs.