Premier François Legault says raising Quebec politicians’ salaries by $30K requires ‘courage’

SHERBROOKE, Que. — Quebec Premier François Legault says courage was necessary to propose raising the salaries of provincial politicians by $30,000.

Legault made the comments on Saturday as the Coalition Avenir Québec’s (CAQ) party convention got underway in Sherbrooke, Que., about 150 kilometres east of Montreal.

READ MORE: A $30K pay bump? Quebec MNAs to table bill that says yes for them

His government tabled a bill this week that would raise the base pay for elected officials from $101,561 to $131,766, making it the highest among Canadian provincial politicians.

The governing party’s caucus is unanimous in supporting this considerable increase, which was recommended by a committee earlier this year so as to attract strong candidates.

READ MORE: Quebec legislators table bill to give themselves a hefty raise. How will they vote?

Legault told reporters today the debate on the salaries of elected members of the national assembly had dragged on for too long and it was necessary to have the courage to increase their base pay.

Most of the 125 elected members of the legislature already earn substantially more than base salary because of other duties, but everyone will see an increase including the premier and cabinet ministers.

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