In 1989, Alberta MLAs voted themselves a 30 per cent pay increase, sparking an outrage so great it probably marked the beginning of the end for then-premier Don Getty’s career. Nearly 20 years later, Alberta politicians are still giving themselves fat salary hikes, behind closed doors, no less. True, the deficit and debt dragons of the Getty and early Ralph Klein years have long been slain, but Albertans have every right to be furious at Premier Ed Stelmach and his 23 cabinet ministers for topping up their salaries by 30 to 34 per cent.

That’s an extra $41,950 to $54,000 a year for work that’s always been included in their base salary — attending meetings for cabinet, Treasury Board and policy committees.

Not a bad promotion, considering the average weekly earnings in Canada last year were just $751, or $39,052 per year.

In the case of Stelmach’s extra $54,000, he’ll soon find himself the highest-paid premier in Canada, with a total salary of $213,450. It’s no chump change for cabinet ministers, either, who will walk away with nearly $42,000 more per year.

Albertans should be outraged. Even if the hikes are deserved, which is doubtful, they should have been determined through an independent and public process.

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the pay increase was the government’s response to a decision made earlier by the Standing Committee on Members’ Services to grant additional committee pay to Speaker Ken Kowalski, Liberal Leader Kevin Taft and NDP Leader Brian Mason.

That decision was unsound, as it resulted in the premier making less than the official Opposition leader and the Speaker of the house. The mistake, though, could have easily been pointed out to the Tory-dominated committee, and rectified. Instead, the government simply increased its own salaries, even though all politicians received a salary hike of 4.7 per cent last month.

Just three months ago, all MLAs ran knowing the remuneration they would receive should they win the election. While some might even argue the 4.7 per cent increase is too steep, since it is higher than the annual cost of living assessed by Statistics Canada, these 30 per cent-plus raises are through the stratosphere. The move is fiscally irresponsible and leaves taxpayers on the hook for well over $1 million a year, according to the CTF.

Stelmach promised to lead with openness and accountability. That’s why he should rescind the hikes and appoint a third-party citizen commission to do an independent review. Politician remuneration should be debated publicly, by taxpayers footing the bill. Not behind closed doors in the legislature, where there’s clear conflict of interest.

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