Reform MLA Pensions

MLAs in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have given themselves a sweetheart pension deal that is costing taxpayers millions.

MLAs are entitled to collect a monthly cheque after serving anywhere from 6 to 8 years, and for every dollar contributed by an MLA, you, the taxpayer, must contribute in between sixteen and twenty-two dollars. Yes, that’s right - $22 for every $1. This costs taxpayers millions every year!

Sign our online petitions to stop the pensions Nova Scotia petition New Brunswick petition

Given that governments Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are running record deficits, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation thinks it’s time to rework the program and cut these excessive MLA pension schemes down to size.

In the Media: CTF scores pension review coup Report calls for tougher pension rules N.B. MLAs per diems slammed by taxpayers federation Dexter open to MLA pension review Canadian Taxpayes Federation Opens Atlantic Office with a Bang, Not a Whimper More media ...

We feel the current MLA pension program should be scrapped and replaced with an RRSP defined contribution plan which simply matches every dollar an MLA contributes – the same kind of contribution deal that the 85 percent of taxpaying Canadians living without any pension would feel lucky to have.

Troy Lanigan, President of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation also announced the organization is expanding by adding a full time presence in Atlantic Canada.

• Photos from the Nova Scotia News Conference

UPDATE

As a result of the CTF’s efforts, on January 21st, 2011 the speaker of the Nova Scotia legislature announced a review the MLA pension program. He admitted in his remarks that public pressure was one of the reasons that the government decided to review pensions now.

While this is a major new development the work is not yet done. The CTF will continue to speak out until we see a full reform of these outrageous MLA pension scheme.

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