A New Democrat government would slash the salaries of Ontario politicians and immediately boost the minimum wage to $10 an hour, party leader Howard Hampton said Thursday.
Ontario's current minimum wage of $8 an hour is not enough to live on, Hampton said during a campaign stop in Ottawa, where he unveiled the second of six key NDP platform planks for the Oct. 10 provincial election.
Hampton chastised Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government for boosting politicians' salaries by a whopping 25 per cent just before Christmas in 2006 rather than increasing the wages of Ontario's working poor.
"Dalton McGuinty had other priorities," Hampton said. "His priority was to ram through a bill to give himself an extravagant $40,000 pay raise."
The legislation increased the base pay for MPPs by about $22,000, upping salaries to about $110,000 a year, with McGuinty's salary growing to $198,620.
Hampton vowed to eliminate that pay raise if his party wins.
Provincial politicians had already been in the top 10 per cent of Ontario earners, Hampton said, and now they're in the top five per cent, with the premier in the top two per cent.
Hampton acknowledged that some people might think it's appropriate for the leader of the province to be among Ontario's highest paid, but sneaking the raise through the legislature during the holidays was an insult to voters, Hampton said.
"I think what's inappropriate is to ram through a $40,000 pay increase [while] trying to use Christmas as your cover, and at the same time say to low-paid workers, 'You have to wait three years before you get a significant increase in the minimum wage.'"
The Liberals have committed to boost the minimum wage to $10.25 per hour by 2010, with annual increases of 75 cents starting next March, but Hampton said the province's 1.2 million minimum-wage workers struggling to make ends meet can't afford to wait.
"These workers are disproportionately women and new Canadians," he said. "Many are raising children while trying to make ends meet and living below the poverty line even though they're working full-time hours or longer."
The Liberals and Progressive Conservatives have said it would be unfair to business owners to immediately increase the minimum wage by $2 an hour, and Hampton said he doesn't expect them to change their minds now.
"Some people have ideological positions and it doesn't matter how many studies you show them, it doesn't matter how many results you show them, it doesn't matter how much you appeal to their sense of fairness and justice," he said. "They have a hard and fast ideological position and you can't persuade them."
Hampton said small businesses would actually benefit from a large increase in the minimum wage because workers would have more disposable income to spend, thus contributing to the economy.
He said the minimum wage and politicians' salaries would be linked to inflation if the NDP is elected.
A party spokeswoman said Hampton has donated all of his $12,330.22 pay raise to charity, and all other NDP members have donated part or all of their raises.
Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory responded tersely when asked about Hampton's pledge to cut politicians' paycheques: "I wouldn't agree to roll it back."
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Ontario Votes 2007 »
- McGuinty wins massive majority, Tory loses seat
- Dalton McGuinty won a second majority government for the Liberals in Ontario on Wednesday night, a triumph for a party that earlier expressed fears of a drop to minority status.
- Ontario rejects electoral reform in referendum
- Ontario voters have rejected a proposed electoral reform that would have seen some provincial legislators chosen based on a party's share of the popular vote, results showed Thursday.
- Ontario voter turnout a record low
- The percentage of eligible voters casting ballots in Wednesday's Ontario election hit an all-time low despite changes introduced in an effort to boost turnout.
- Ont. Green party scores 8 per cent of vote
- No Green party candidates made it to the Ontario legislature in Wednesday's election, but that defeat was sweetened by a swell in their share of the popular vote, which more than doubled.
- McGuinty only leader not facing leadership questions
- Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty won re-election in Ottawa South and NDP Leader Howard Hampton again won his northern Ontario riding of Kenora-Rainy River. PC Leader John Tory was defeated.
District Profiles
More Ontario Votes Headlines »
- McGuinty wins massive majority, Tory loses seat
- Dalton McGuinty won a second majority government for the Liberals in Ontario on Wednesday night, a triumph for a party that earlier expressed fears of a drop to minority status.
- Ontario rejects electoral reform in referendum
- Ontario voters have rejected a proposed electoral reform that would have seen some provincial legislators chosen based on a party's share of the popular vote, results showed Thursday.
- Ontario voter turnout a record low
- The percentage of eligible voters casting ballots in Wednesday's Ontario election hit an all-time low despite changes introduced in an effort to boost turnout.
- Ont. Green party scores 8 per cent of vote
- No Green party candidates made it to the Ontario legislature in Wednesday's election, but that defeat was sweetened by a swell in their share of the popular vote, which more than doubled.
- McGuinty only leader not facing leadership questions
- Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty won re-election in Ottawa South and NDP Leader Howard Hampton again won his northern Ontario riding of Kenora-Rainy River. PC Leader John Tory was defeated.
