A Senate committee this week approved a 38% increase in living expenses for legislators who stay in Ottawa hotels while on official business, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.“Senators actually are struggling,” said Senator Judith Seidman (QC). “I even hear senators saying to me they won’t be able to be in Ottawa, in the Senate, for several days at the end of the fiscal year because they have no money for living expenses in their budget anymore due to very large increases in hotel accommodations, specifically.”“There are senators who no longer can get direct flights to Ottawa and as a result, they have to come a day early and stay an extra night in order to make their committees and Senate sittings,” said Seidman. “It is a pretty serious situation.”“It’s not frivolous,” said Seidman. “It’s not as if senators want extra money in their budget to be here in a frivolous way, but they are in a serious way because of airlines cutting flights and because of hotels raising prices. I just want to put that on the record so it is clear.”The last adjustment to rates occurred two years ago. This week, the Senate committee on Internal Economy approved a budget report that proposes increasing Ottawa living expenses by $10,150 next year, representing a 38% increase.“We think by greatly increasing it, up to $37,000 from $26,850, this will ensure we actually have the money there,” said Senator Eric Forest (QC), chair of a budget subcommittee. Hotel expenses for senators on business will increase from $250 to $275 a night.The total annual Senate budget currently is $126.7 million. This budget includes various expenses, including an automatic pay increase for senators on April 1, resulting in a raise of $4,100, bringing their annual salary to $169,600.In 2005, Parliament passed Bill C-30 An Act to Amend the Parliament of Canada Act, which established automatic annual pay increases for senators and MPs. These raises are determined by calculating average wage settlements in the unionized private sector by the labour department.After the 2008 financial crisis, the automatic pay increases were frozen. During that period, Parliament passed an Expenditure Restraint Act, which suspended all salary increases from 2010 to 2013.Senator Lucie Moncion (ON), who chairs the committee on internal economy, previously supported a 2020 motion that suggested senators should decline salary increases as part of an austerity measure.“This really has to do with the advantages we as Canadian senators enjoy,” Moncion said at the time. “It’s undeniable that our status as senators provides us with many advantages and benefits, including our sessional allowances and the annual increase.”“Those advantages make no sense when contrasted with the harsh reality so many Canadians are going through today,” said Moncion. “Many of them have lost their jobs.” The motion to implement a pay freeze was never approved.
