The New Brunswick government is delivering on a promise it campaigned on in the last provincial election—to rein in the pensions of provincial politicians.
The Conservative government introduced a bill on Tuesday that would roll back pension benefits for members of the legislative assembly to 3% year from 4.5%. The move essentially reverses an increase agreed upon by MLAs in 2008.
The changes would be retroactive to 2008, affecting all current sitting members and lowering the pensions of those who have been defeated or retired since then. Former MLAs currently collecting a pension won’t be expected to reimburse what they have already been paid.
“I made a commitment that it would be dealt with. It is dealt with here today and it is retroactive,” Premier David Alward told reporters.
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The new bill would see someone who sat in the legislative assembly for eight years receive an annual pension of $20,400 when they retired, down from the current $30,600, but still ahead of the $16, 325 MLAs would have received before the 2008 increase.
At the time of that increase, conflict of interest commissioner Patrick Ryan recommended an independent review, something the legislature finally initiated in April 2010. That review resulted in 15 recommendations, including the rolling back of pensions.
One recommendation Alward has said he won’t consider is lowering the minimum years of service for MLA pension eligibility to six years from the current eight years.
Kevin Lacey, Atlantic director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, approved of the move.
“That’s certainly a good start,” he said. “It’s still a very rich pension and far beyond what the average taxpayer would get, even with the motion.”
Liberal Opposition leader Victor Boudreau said his party—which was in power when the review process began—unanimously supports the bill.
“The Opposition has every intention to abide by those recommendations and support them on the floor of the legislature,” he said.