Give judges only what Albertans get
CTF LetterEDMONTON: In a letter to Alberta's Judicial Compensation Commission, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the Commission to stop the practice of recommending arbitrary wage increases for judges by linking their salary increases to the Average Weekly Earnings of Albertans.
"Too often these judicial compensation commissions recommend overly generous wage increases," said CTF-Alberta director Scott Hennig. "If Albertans are only receiving modest increases in their pay, why should they be expected to pony up huge pay increases for judges "
Since 2000 two judicial compensation commissions' recommendations have resulted in Alberta judges receiving a combined 45 per cent pay increase. In this same period, the change in Average Weekly Earnings of Albertans has ranged from 1.13 per cent to 5.23 per cent annually.
Alberta MLAs and city councils in both Edmonton and Calgary link their annual salary adjustments to the Statistics Canada calculated Average Weekly Earnings of Albertans.
"If it's good enough for Albertans and our politicians, it should be good enough for our judges," concluded Hennig.
A copy of the CTF's letter to the Judicial Compensation Commission can be found on-line by clicking here or by contacting the Alberta office at 1-800-661-0187.