EDMONTON, AB: The NDP’s sudden reversal on the 7.25 per cent pay raise to senior legislature officials would not have happened without public backlash and pressure from the opposition, the Wildrose Official Opposition said.
The NDP had justified the tax hike as necessary to meet contractual obligations, and that it had been standard practice to vote in these raises for several years. Both claims were false.
“The fact is, there was no excuse for what the NDP members of the committee did last week. Hardly a day goes by where we don’t hear a deeply personal story of job losses across Alberta, yet the NDP went ahead and rubber stamped massive pay raises,” Wildrose House Leader Nathan Cooper said. “We are thankful they reversed their decision today, but it raises serious questions about the mindset of the government heading into an important budget.”
Wildrose MLAs Cooper, Jason Nixon and Glenn van Dijken all voted against the raises in committee late last week.
The NDP further bowed to opposition pressure to scrap an international trip to Boston on “government ethics.” Last week the NDP MLAs voted to send themselves to the conference, despite protests from the opposition.
“During these tough economic times, Albertans will not tolerate these type of international junkets,” Nixon said.