Saskatchewan approves 3 additional MLAs
CBC News
Posted: May 16, 2012 5:13 PM CST
Last Updated: May 16, 2012 9:35 PM CST
Related
Related Stories
Saskatchewan is adding three MLAs to the legislature when the next election rolls around, bringing the total representation to 61 members.
The look of the new electoral map has yet to be determined. An electoral boundaries commission will work that out.
Don Morgan, the minister of justice and attorney general, repeated the government's promise that the extra MLAs will not cost taxpayers any more money.
"The premier has indicated that we will look for additional savings and actually we're looking for that across all of government and certainly we will be looking for that through executive government," Morgan said Wednesday. "We will be able to find additional savings so that this is something that is not passed on to the taxpayer."
The opposition NDP was against adding new MLAs, saying there was no need for more representatives.
"It's going to be millions of dollars for more politicians," John Nilson, the interim leader of the NDP, said. "Saskatchewan people — whether they are Sask Party, NDP or Liberal — they have been coming to me and my colleagues and saying this is a pretty dumb idea."
According to government documents, an MLA receives a yearly salary of $88,067.
Members who perform additional duties, such as Speaker or chair of a committee, receive additional pay.
Each MLA is also supported by taxpayers for travel and constituency office expenses. According to the most recent public accounts, most MLAs expenses range between $122,000 and $150,000. The average for 58 MLAs was $134,000.
With files from CBC's Adam HunterShare Tools
Latest Saskatchewan News Headlines
- Wallin refuses to answer questions about repaying expenses
- Speaking as an independent Saskatchewan senator for the first time, Pamela Wallin is not answering any questions about whether or not she has repaid expense money. more »
- Gordon Barnhart critical of Senate expense claims he saw as clerk
- A former clerk of the Senate, Gordon Barnhart, gives a harsh assessment of how senators handled expense claims based on what he experienced. more »
- Winterhawks down Blades to clinch Memorial Cup semifinal berth
- The Portland Winterhawks scored three times in the third period Wednesday to defeat the Blades 4-2 in the final round-robin game at the MasterCard Memorial Cup in Saskatoon. more »
- End solitary confinement, says former female inmate
- A Saskatchewan woman who was held in solitary confinement in B.C. for a total of 3½ years has issued an emotional plea to end the practice in Canada's prisons. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Harper 'not consulted' about Duffy Senate expense repayment

- Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that not only did he not know about his chief of staff's "gift" to repay Senator Mike Duffy's expenses before the story broke in the media, he was not consulted and did not sign off on Nigel Wright's decision to write a personal cheque. more »
- 2 infants confirmed among dead of Oklahoma tornado
- Rescue workers raced to complete the search for survivors and the dead in the Oklahoma City suburb where a mammoth tornado destroyed countless homes, cleared lots down to bare red earth and claimed 24 lives, including those of 10 children. more »
- 'You will see him again in heaven,' Sharlene Bosma tells daughter
- Sharlene Bosma told more than 1,000 people at the public memorial service for her slain husband, Tim Bosma, about the love they shared. more »
- Mayor Ford stays silent while his brother defends him
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford continues to stonewall the media over allegations that he was recorded on video smoking what appears to be crack cocaine, but his brother Coun. Doug Ford told reporters Wednesday that the story is untrue. more »
- Regina OK's Albert Street nightclub
- Controversy swirls around chief who sexually assaulted teen
- Transgender bride files human rights complaint
- Fire destroys only bar in Lafleche, Sask.
- Wallin refuses to answer questions about repaying expenses
- Missing Biggar-area man's body recovered from slough
- RCMP seek suspect accused of assault on teen
- Singer who flubbed U.S. anthem returns for redemption
- Man assaulted with hammer on Saskatoon's west side

