We’re in the middle of the dog days of summer. I hope you’re enjoying the sunshine as well as some quality time with friends and family. We have had numerous excellent community events of late. It was nice to see such a great turnout for Waterfest in Chestermere last weekend and Langdon Days the weekend prior. I have to tell you: it feels good to spend some time away from the Legislature connecting with real people. Albertans like you, who work regular jobs for regular wages, and who focus on the things in life that really matter. Things like Family. Community. Opportunity. Fairness.
I think that’s why I found the news coming out of the legislature this week so disturbing. After promising a three-year wage freeze for management, the PC government quietly broke that promise by rubber-stamping a 7% pay hike for deputy ministers and other political appointees. The wage freeze was just one year in, and this government went and promised a 7% increase over the next three years. I don’t understand the thought process of a government that recklessly takes on debt, and at the same time hands out raises to high-ranking officials like Alberta’s Asia representative Gary Mar. Mar will be making $294,151 by 2016 and that is only his base salary before his other benefits! The Deputy Chief of the Public Affairs Bureau and the Chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission will each earn $223,029.
We all want to see people fairly compensated when they do a job well. But senior officials and deputy ministers are not in the same bracket as the average Alberta worker. Handing over a raise to this group, when the government has promised Albertans a little austerity, is unacceptable. We tell our children that actions speak louder than words. Well, the actions of this PC government are speaking very loudly to hard-working Albertans these days.
Back in November of 2012, the PC MLAs voted themselves an 8% raise. I’m proud to say that our party opposed the raise in principle, and in practice. We established the Wildrose Caucus Foundation and are donating that extra 8% to Alberta charities. We have contributed to Little Warriors, The Veteran’s Poppy Fund, and the Chestermere Food Bank just to name a few.
While I’m proud of our stand, I’m disappointed that this government would pull a stunt like this. They tell us that they just can’t build more schools, or offer the health care services we need. How do they manage to be so capable and creative when it comes to government salaries? The broken promises are endless, and their plan to push this increase through during the summer when they thought no one was looking has failed. We will keep the pressure on and continue to work to protect the tax dollars of hard working Albertans like you.
