Mixed reaction to MLA pay review

There are mixed feelings about the changes that are coming to MLA pensions after a three member panel examined how legislature members are compensated.

The panel said legislature members should be required to serve two years instead of five to become eligible for a pension and also recommends no changes to their base salaries.

P-C leader Jamie Baillie said the pensions are still too rich and are outside the realm of anything the average Nova Scotian could hope to get.

“We’re not done here until the pay and pensions of MLA’s match what Nova Scotians can afford and what they can hope to earn in their own jobs and this doesn’t do that so to me, we’re not further ahead,” he said.

But Premier Stephen McNeil said the changes are reasonable.

“All of the felt it was the appropriate plan so I’m not sure, we have a difference of opinion I guess but the panel has made the recommendation and we’ll implement the changes that they’ve brought forward,” he explained.

The Canadian Taxpayer Federation’s Kevin Lacey is pleased with some of the changes to the pension program, but not all of them.

“Taxpayers won’t be choking every time they hear a pension number after these reforms, however make no mistake, this is still a very rich pension program and there is still a lot of room yet for reform,” he said.

Another big change is that legislature members seeking to collect a monthly accommodation allowance of about $1,500 must live a minimum of 100 kilometres from the legislature instead of the current 40 kilometres. It’s something that is concerning to some members according to Liberal MLA Keith Irving, who lives 92 kilometres away.

“I’m not sure about the specifics about whether I lose the mileage benefits as well but it’s really a question of 2 1/2 hours of my time commuting,” he said, adding it’s not for him to judge if it’s fair and he’ll play by whatever rules are set down.

The recommendations are binding and most are retroactive to Nov. 1, 2013.