OTTAWA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today reacted to the announcement from Government House Leader Don Boudria of the formation of a three-person commission to examine compensation for Members of Parliament. The commission, which must be established - according to the Parliament of Canada Act -- within two months following a federal election, will deliver its report in the next six months to be subsequently tabled in Parliament.

"Experience has taught us that these commissions are usually nothing more than expensive and exclusionary gabfests," noted CTF federal director Walter Robinson. "The Blais Commission which was formed back in 1997 and reported in early 1998 sought out minimal public input, held private symposia and cost taxpayers a cool $350,000. Then Mr. Boudria and his colleagues from all parties basically chucked the Blais Commission's report into the Ottawa River and ended up cutting their own back room, closed door, pay hike deal."

The CTF has been the leading voice on MP Compensation Reform for the last decade and continues to insist that any pay package improvements for Parliamentarians be based upon the guiding principles of simplicity, transparency, fairness and accountability.

"We could make things simpler by ending the convoluted layering of allowances for MPs and the process could be transparent with 'real' public input into the Commission's deliberations," stated Robinson "Fairness would mean having fully-taxable salaries along with gutting the MP pension plan in favour of a matching dollar-for-dollar group RRSP plan and accountability would be restored by ensuring that any pay hikes or changes approved by MPs take effect for the next Parliament and not the current one."

"We wish the new Commission well and hope that they will open up their work to wider public input than that of their predecessors. If so, we are prepared to offer our constructive input into this process," said Robinson. "But it can not be business as usual like past commissions."

"Ultimately the power to once and for all address the fundamental issues of MP compensation reform rests with our elected members, and I have seen no indication to date that they are prepared to embrace our guiding principles and engage this debate with courage or conviction. It really is too bad, because if we could move beyond the symbolism of the MP pay debate, we could all focus on the bigger public policy challenges of the 21st century," concluded Robinson.