Taxpayers group to hold Alberta premier to her word to suspend transition cash

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says it will hold Alberta Premier Alison Redford to her promise to end transition allowances for departing politicians.

Redford said during the election campaign that the allowances were "overly generous" and would be suspended going forward.

The taxpayer group says the bill for MLAS who have left politics this years is almost $15 million.
It says 24 legislature members retired before Monday's election and another 11 were defeated.

Payments range from a low of $78,000 to defeated Wildrose MLA Paul Hinman to a high of almost $1.2 million to the now retired Speaker Ken Kowalski.

Kowalski is also eligible to collect an MLA pension.

The federation says the allowances are on top of nearly $2.7 million in RRSP contributions made for MLAs with taxpayer money.

“It’s a shame she didn’t act prior to the election to eliminate these golden handshakes, as it would have saved taxpayers nearly $15 million,” said Scott Hennig, the federation's Alberta director.