Following salary increase, N.S. MLAs approve $921 hike to office budgets

Jean Laroche · CBC

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 1:46 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

The 55 MLAs who beryllium successful the Nova Scotia Legislature volition beryllium getting a $921 summation successful their constituency budgets, the archetypal summation successful their bureau expenses since 2012.

An all-party committee has besides approved a question to automatically necktie each aboriginal fund increases to the outgo of living.

Both changes were recommended by an autarkic reappraisal sheet made up of elder authorities officials successful a study released successful February.

Cabinet curate Brendan Maguire, who arsenic a Liberal absorption member lobbied unsuccessfully for an summation successful constituency expenses to let MLAs to prosecute 2 assistants, is satisfied with the change.

"I deliberation it's a bully step, obviously," Maguire told CBC News. "It's bully to spot everybody connected the committee hold to this."

MLA office budgets present scope from $5,500 to $5,800 a period depending connected the size of the constituency.

Opposition in favour of increase

New Democrat MLA Lisa Lachance said it was "really important" to get an summation truthful that MLAs could amended bash their jobs.

Lachance said it "seemed precise reasonable" to person the budgets automatically accrued and tied to cost-of-living increases.

Liberal House person Iain Rankin echoed that sentiment.

"I deliberation that since it's based connected immoderate metric, I deliberation it's tenable to embed that successful law," said Rankin pursuing the House of Assembly's absorption committee meeting. "I deliberation different jurisdictions bash that truthful it does region authorities from it."

MLA expenses were tied to cost-of-living increases earlier but erstwhile NDP and Liberal governments either refused to o.k. the increases oregon blocked them outright. Until present the existent PC authorities besides refused to summation the allowances.

Apartment rent

All 3 parties person besides agreed to summation to $2,100 the maximum magnitude some furniture ministers and MLAs who unrecorded astatine slightest 100 kilometres from Province House tin walk connected flat rent. Cabinet ministers presently tin measure taxpayers up to $1,700 for their apartments portion the bounds for MLAs is $1,500.

Currently 25 MLAs qualify for an flat successful Halifax. The remaining 30 each unrecorded adjacent capable to Province House to beryllium capable to question location regular aft sittings.

The remuneration sheet has recommended the 100-kilometre bounds beryllium lowered to 50 kilometres, which would let different 4 MLAs to qualify, but the Houston authorities has not yet moved up connected that recommendation.

A measure definite to walk this outpouring volition formally enact the binding proposal of the remuneration committee that called connected MLAs to get their archetypal wage summation successful 12 years.