Minister of Finance Charles Sousa
Ontario has introduced legislation that would, if passed, extend the current freeze on MPP salaries until the provincial budget is balanced in 2017-18.
The MPP Salary Freeze Act would not allow pay increases to take effect until April 1, 2019, after the Public Accounts confirm a balanced budget.
Compensation costs account for over half of all Ontario government spending, either paid directly through the Ontario Public Service or as part of the government’s transfer payments to universities, hospitals and other public sector partners.
“This government will continue to take a determined and disciplined approach to eliminating the deficit while continuing to invest in services and programs that families rely on. Ontario is the leanest government in Canada, but with over half of the budget going to the cost of compensation, we must all do our part in a responsible way. We continue to lead by example”, said Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance
In 2004, a salary freeze for MPPs was implemented from October 2003 until April 1, 2005. The 2009 budget announced that MPP salaries would be frozen for one year beginning on April 1, 2009. That salary freeze was extended in the 2010 budget for two years and in the 2012 budget for an additional two years, bringing the total length of the current pay freeze to five years.
