The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) wants the government of Manitoba to stop giving “golden parachutes” to former Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) when they retire or lose their seats in an election..The CTF revealed their estimates of how much each former MLA would receive as they leave their political careers and return to private life..“Taxpayers shouldn’t be padding the wallets of MLAs who are headed for the exits,” said Gage Haubrich, Prairie director of CTF. .“Ordinary Manitobans don’t get a golden parachute when they leave their jobs and they shouldn’t be forced to fund one for politicians.”.In the recent Manitoba general election, 25 MLAs either did not run for re-election or were not re-elected..The eligible MLAs can receive severance payments between $25,749 to $102,998..The former MLAs can get a total of $1.84 million as severance pay and the average amount each of them would receive is about $32,800..The amount they receive depends on how many years the MLA served in office..An MLA can get one month's salary for each year they served in the job, but the minimum payout is at least three months pay and no more than 12 months pay..MLAs receive around $102,998 each year for their work. In comparison, the typical person in Manitoba makes about $57,000 annually..“Former politicians shouldn’t keep fleecing taxpayers when they aren’t even in office anymore,” said Haubrich. .“Premier-Designate Wab Kinew needs to cancel this taxpayer-funded handout before the next election.”
