EDMONTON - Albertans paid their provincial politicians more than $13.5 million in salary and benefits last year, and forked out an additional $4.5 million in travel expenses.
An MLA pay report tabled late Tuesday afternoon shows Albertans footed the bill for $2.1 million in expense allowances, plus roughly $2 million to MLAs who sat on legislative committees and nearly $1.8 million to those who sat on government committees.
Alberta has the highest paid premier and cabinet in the country, but Minister of Human Services Dave Hancock said there’s no need to apologize for it.
He said the job is all consuming to the point that he can’t go to the store with his family, because the constant barrage of calls on his cellphone would turn the trip into a marathon.
“The pay packet should be good because it’s hard work,” Hancock said. “It’s a good job, but it certainly takes a real toll on your family and it’s got a high degree of responsibility.”
The base pay for an Alberta MLA is just over $89,000, and cabinet ministers earn an additional $64,000 on top of that. The average MLA earns $163,464 — a figure that includes base salary, expense allowance, committee fees and benefits, along with any pay for additional responsibilities, like acting as party leader or minister.
The three highest paid MLAs in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, were former premier Ed Stelmach ($221,438), speaker Ken Kowalski ($205,407) and Liberal Leader David Swann ($203,985).
The lowest paid MLAs were Conservative Ken Allred ($129,734), New Democrat Rachel Notley ($131,232) and former Liberal leader Kevin Taft ($133,028). Of the 10 lowest-paid politicians at the legislature, nine are opposition members.
Former Supreme Court of Canada justice Jack Major has been appointed to conduct a review of MLA pay and benefits. He will report to the legislature in spring.
The report tabled Tuesday details how much each MLA gets for an expense allowance ($26,046) and how much out-of-town MLAs spend staying in Edmonton to attend the legislative session (an average of $25,411).
The report divides travel expenses into two categories: Costs associated with ministerial business, and travel related to work as an MLA.
Iris Evans, formerly the minister of international affairs, spent nearly $80,000 on ministerial business travel last year, more than any other minister. Ron Liepert, who was energy minister at the time, spent $44,000, followed by tourism minister Cindy Ady, who spent $41,000.
On average, provincial politicians spent roughly $25,000 on MLA business-related travel.
Speaker Ken Kowalski spent $49,000 on MLA travel, and said he drives about 70,000 kilometres a year around his constituency. The province reimburses MLAs at a rate of about 43 cents per kilometre.
“It’s the equivalent of one and a half trips around the world each year and I’ve been doing this for 32 years,” he said. “Edmonton, Morinville, Legal, Clyde, Westlock, Fawcett, Jarvie, Barrhead, Fort Assinboine, Swan Hills and back. It’s your job as an MLA.”
Leonard Mitzel, MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat, spent more than any other MLA on business travel: nearly $72,000. Fort McMurray MLA Guy Boutillier spent $69,000, while Pearl Calahasen, MLA for Lesser Slave Lake, spent $67,000. Mitzel said that his constituency in the deep south-eastern corner of the province is a seven-hour drive from the capital city, and flights typically cost more than $500 one way. He also noted that his extensive committee work keeps him on the road a lot.
“It’s the time on the road. I do fifty to sixty trips a year, back and forth,” Mitzel said.
Asked in jest whether he uses the money to take vacations, Mitzel said: “We do call it the sunshine capital of Canada,” he said, “but it’s not Hawaii.”
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