Alberta MLA Compensation in Perspective and Recommendations for Changes

Abstract

This study was commissioned by Judge Jack Major, head of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the compensation of members of the Alberta parliament. The analysis concludes that the work of legislators has no private sector workers whose compensation can serve as a guide to the determination of legislators’ levels of compensation. It argues that instead the levels of compensation in all provincial parliaments are the result of the tendency of legislators to increase them and opposition parties demanding lower levels. Voters in all provinces through time determine the compensation level they desire and thus the quality of parliamentarians they get to serve them. This conceptual framework suggests the need to examine Alberta compensation levels to those found in other provinces. The study found that the present value of the full package of compensation is above that of other provinces, due mainly to the existence of tax-free allowances and excessively generous separation pay. The study recommends conversion of the tax-free allowance into an equivalent taxable salary and changes to the formula determining separation pay to bring the total compensation of Alberta members of the legislature in line with that paid by other provincial legislatures.