Moving election means tens of millions in extra pensions

OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released estimates showing how much it could cost to delay the next election by a week and trigger the pension eligibility for members of Parliament elected in 2019.

“This looks like the government is pushing back the election so more MPs can take a very lucrative, taxpayer-funded pension,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “If politicians don’t want to look shady, then they should stop doing shady stuff like this.”

MPs are eligible for a pension after six years of service. MPs first elected in the 2019 election are not eligible for the pension until Oct. 21, 2025.

The federal government introduced legislation that would move the next scheduled election from Oct. 20 to Oct. 27, 2025.

This would mean 80 additional MPs would be eligible to collect a pension. The additional pensions total $120 million. That is the estimated lifetime pension if all 80 MPs lose their seats.

The annual starting pension ranges from $32,000 to $49,000.

“If even half of these MPs lose, moving back the election one week would cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars,” Terrazzano said. “When MPs tweak the system to pad their pockets, it sends a signal to thousands of bureaucrats that they should dig deeper into the trough too.

“Leadership starts at the top and MPs are going the wrong way.”

The CTF is calling for reforms to the MP pension plan, ending severance and the transition allowance, and cancelling the April 1 MP pay raise.

The estimated pension calculations for the 80 MPs can be found HERE.

For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact:

Franco Terrazzano
CTF Federal Director
Phone: 403.918.3532
Email: fterrazzano@taxpayer.com

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