CALGARY, AB: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is slamming members of Parliament for failing to stop their April 1 pay raise during the COVID-19 downturn.

“Our MPs should know that a pandemic and severe economic downturn is the worst possible time to be padding their pockets with a pay hike,” said Franco Terrazzano, the CTF’s Alberta Director. “Millions of Canadians have been struggling with COVID-19 for more than a year now, so it’s long past time for our MPs to get off their butts and put an end to their automatic pay increases.”

The basic MP salary is $182,600, while ministers receive $269,800 and the prime minister receives $365,200 annually.

MPs are eligible for raises each year on April 1, based on the average annual increase in private-sector union contracts with corporations that have more than 500 employees. The CTF estimates each MP will receive an extra $3,200, while ministers will receive an extra $4,700 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will receive an extra $6,400, based on contract data published by the government of Canada.

The federal government stopped the automatic pay raises between 2010 and 2013 in response to the 2008-09 recession.

Canada lost more than 700,000 private-sector jobs over the last year, according to Statistics Canada.

“This shouldn’t be rocket science: our MPs should be able to figure out a way to stop the automatic pay hikes during a severe economic downturn,” said Terrazzano. “This second MP pay raise during COVID-19 is a slap in the face to the many taxpayers who have taken a pay cut, lost their job or their business.”