From My Bottom Step

A Council Pay Cut Follow-Up

Here’s the follow-up to my post about the Council pay cut that I promised to try to provide for you.

Since 1998, remuneration for members of Council has automatically increased according to a formula described in Policy 18(27).  But in it’s 2008/12/01 meeting, Council approved a motion which states: “That in light of current economic conditions and the mounting pressure to reduce and/or freeze compensation levels, a 5% reduction in pay be approved for the Members of Council for 2009.” Continue Reading

Council Approves a Pay Cut

London’s councillors currently get paid about $32,000 a year, and one third of that is exempt from taxation.At last night’s meeting of City Council, a motion by Councillor Armstrong that members of City Council take a 5% pay cut as of 2009/01/01 managed to pass.

However, the motion was not well worded, and it isn’t clear to me if it replaces Council policy … Continue Reading

How Much Is Too Much?

                    … Continue Reading

The MPP Holiday Is Finally Over

Pigs at the TroughPoliticians finally return to Queens Park on Monday, but you haven’t heard a peep from the local media about this absentee problem have you? Why not? It’s the first time that our elected ‘representatives’ have been in session this year. 01 In actual fact, the legislature has sat only two weeks in the past nine months! 02 It’s the first time that they’ve been in the legislature since pocketing another automatic salary increase which kicked in as fast as the new year began. Too bad that they couldn’t move as fast to get back to work. Nice gig if you can get it.
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Year-End Reminder – 2007

Well, it’s getting towards that time of year again when politicians receive automatic salary raises, usually accompanied by a silence that is uncharacteristic of them.
It’s the time of the year that I like to point out that fact.
It’s the time of the year that I like to propose, as I so often have in … Continue Reading

Vindication for Federal Nurses

Three years ago, 431 nurses (95% female) whose job is to determine the eligibility of CPPD applicants, filed a gender discrimination complaint against the Canadian government. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has now ruled that these “medical adjudicators” who are only designated as “program administrators” are paid only half as much and receive fewer benefits than their “medical advisers” (doctors; 80% male) who “perform a similar job” and are “recognized as health professionals.”
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Regulating Gift Cards

“You’ve got to wonder if these … Continue Reading

NDP Pay Pledge

Kerry Gillespie correctly writes that “The NDP have long cried foul over the wage hike Liberal and Progressive Conservatives MPPs voted for just before Christmas” (”Hampton vows $10 wage, MPP pay cut”; Toronto Star; 2007/09/13). He tells us that Hampton has “vowed” to “immediately” raise the minimum wage to $10 “if elected” and then “index it to inflation.”
To … Continue Reading

Council Salaries

Hot off the press (”Council salaries to be studied”; Joe Belanger; London Free Press; 2007/04/18), word that some recently-elected members of London City Council are unhappy with the amount that they’re being paid.

Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 06:56:21 -0400 (EDT)
From: “Gregory Fowler”
Subject: Council Salaries
To: letters@lfpress.com
CC: “Paul Berton”, “Joe Belanger”

Like the issue of plastic bags, Council salaries was one of my election campain … Continue Reading

Cashless Public Transit?

Although there is no such thing as “free,” I like to encourage people to consider the concept of a cashless LTC. I have been promoting the idea for at least 20 years, despite the sad fact that most people are too selfish to support it.
If people are paying for something, they are more likely to use it. In recent years there has been a limited hybrid of the … Continue Reading