EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Alison Redford is taking action following the revelation last week that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being paid out to politicians to sit on a committee that doesn’t meet.
Redford says members of her Progressive Conservative government will no longer accept the extra pay that comes with sitting on committees.
She has also asked Speaker Ken Kowalski to suspend the pay of all legislature committees while he reviews the committee pay structure.
That is in addition to another review currently being done by retired Supreme Court justice John Major on the entire pay structure for Alberta politicians.
Redford has been getting heat in recent days after the Canadian Taxpayers Federation revealed the all-party committee on privileges pays its members $1,000 a month even though the committee hasn’t met in more than three years.
On the weekend, Redford said she didn’t agree that committee members should be paid for not working, but said she wouldn’t take action until she saw Major’s recommendations.