Squamish鈥檚 MP says he鈥檒l be donating his pay raise to COVID-19 initiatives.
鈥淥n April 1st, Members of Parliament received a scheduled legislative pay increase,鈥� announced MP Patrick Weiler on Instagram. 鈥淭o support our communities, I am donating the full amount of my annual increase to local charities responding to COVID-19, and encourage others to support their important work helping impacted and vulnerable constituents make it through this crisis.鈥�
Weiler is not alone in donating his money to the cause.
Prominent politicians such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Andrew Scheer have also pledged to give their raises to charity as the pandemic ravages the country鈥檚 economy.
According to a report from The Canadian Press, as per a law passed in 2005, salaries paid to MPs and senators automatically increase on April 1 of each year, based on the average increase negotiated by major bargaining units in the private sector.
The idea behind these automatic increases was to depoliticize parliamentarians鈥� pay.
As a result, for this year, MPs will see their pay rise by 2.1%. This will increase their base salaries by just over $3,750 to $182,656, the report says.
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