Chapter 4The House of Commons and Its Members

Remuneration, Pensions and Entitlements

Members of the House of Commons are entitled to a sessional allowance, a pension plan and relocation benefits. They also have access to several comprehensive medical, dental and life insurance plans which provide a broad range of coverage. Moreover, Members are provided with an office budget, travel resources and a fully equipped office in the Parliamentary Precinct in order to carry out their parliamentary functions.⁴³⁶

The Sessional Allowance

The sessional allowance, the equivalent of a salary, is stated as an annual amount and is paid monthly.⁴³⁷ Additional salaries are payable to Members of the House of Commons occupying certain offices and positions. These include the Prime Minister, Ministers, the Speaker and other Chair Occupants, the leaders of recognized opposition parties, House Leaders and Deputy House Leaders, Whips and Deputy Whips of recognized parties, Parliamentary Secretaries, Caucus Chairs of recognized parties, and Chairs and Vice-Chairs of standing, special, standing joint and special joint committees.⁴³⁸ The sessional allowance and additional salaries are adjusted each year on April 1; the adjustment is based on the index of the average percentage increase in base-rate wages for the calendar year in Canada resulting from major settlements negotiated in the private sector.⁴³⁹

Newly elected Members receive a sessional allowance as of the date of their election,⁴⁴⁰ and this allowance continues until a Member ceases to hold office or the day of a general election.⁴⁴¹ The sessional allowance continues uninterrupted when Members are re-elected.

Pension

The pension plan for Members was first established in 1952. At that time, Prime Minister St-Laurent expressed concern about the reluctance of some people to run for a seat in the House of Commons because of their belief that long years spent in public service would not allow them to provide adequately for their later years. The Prime Minister believed that the establishment of a pension plan would strengthen the parliamentary institution and attract the right kind of person to public service.⁴⁴² Under the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act, a retiring allowance (pension) is payable to former Members who have contributed to the pension plan for a minimum of six years and who have attained the retirement age set out in the Act.⁴⁴³ Should a Member retire with less than six years of service, the Member receives a withdrawal allowance in a single payment.⁴⁴⁴

Former Members who are not eligible for an immediate pension may be entitled to a severance allowance equal to 50% of the sessional allowance and any additional annual salary payable to Members occupying certain offices (such as that of a Minister, House Leader, Whip, or Parliamentary Secretary).⁴⁴⁵

The provisions of the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act continue to apply between the day of dissolution and election day. Contributions cease as of election day for Members who are not re-elected.

Budgetary Entitlements

The Parliament of Canada Act authorizes the Board of Internal Economy to make by-laws with regard to the use of funds, goods, services and premises provided to Members.⁴⁴⁶ The By-laws were first enacted by the Board of Internal Economy in 1993 and are a series of guidelines regulating the use of parliamentary resources made available to Members to help them perform their parliamentary functions. The term “parliamentary functions” is defined as “the duties and activities that relate to the position of Member, wherever performed and whether or not performed in a partisan manner, namely, participation in activities relating to the proceedings and work of the House of Commons and activities undertaken in representing his or her constituency or constituents”.⁴⁴⁷

Each year, the Board of Internal Economy establishes the financial provisions for the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31), within the amount appropriated for that purpose by Parliament. These financial provisions include the Member’s office budget, House Officers’ budgets and committees’ budgets.⁴⁴⁸

Each Member is provided with a Member’s office budget which consists of a basic budget and, for some Members, an elector supplement or a geographic supplement. Members who represent densely populated constituencies, constituencies measuring at least 500 square kilometres and constituencies listed in Schedule 3 of the Canada Elections Act receive a supplement.⁴⁴⁹ The Member’s office budget is used to pay expenses for the Member’s offices in Ottawa and in the constituency, including staff salaries. The House of Commons also provides Members with modern office equipment and services such as extensive long-distance calling, electronic mail and Internet facilities, wireless devices, internal mail and messenger services, postal services, printing, security services and language training.⁴⁵⁰ Members may spend their budgets, or use the House services provided, as they choose so long as they conform to the regulations prescribed by the Board of Internal Economy.

The Board of Internal Economy determines the terms and conditions of managing and accounting for the funds by Members and has exclusive authority to determine whether their use is or was proper.⁴⁵¹ Other By-laws set out the terms governing Members’ use of their budgets and other benefits provided by the House, including travel, postal services, printing privileges, staff, and the purchase of goods. In the event the By-laws are contravened, the Board of Internal Economy may pursue a number of options, including withholding money from one of the Member’s budgets or allowances, or freezing any budget, allowance or payment that may be available to the Member.⁴⁵²

Each Member is the employer of all his or her employees and has the prerogative to recruit, hire, promote and release employees.⁴⁵³ A Member is allowed full discretion in the direction and control of the work performed on his or her behalf by employees and is subject only to the authority of the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy in the exercise of that discretion. Members determine the duties to be performed, hours of work, job classifications and salaries, and are responsible for employee relations.⁴⁵⁴ Subject to specific terms and conditions, Members may enter into contracts for services with individuals, agencies or organizations and use a portion of their office budget for the payment of these contractors. Members may not hire or enter into a contract for consulting and professional services with members of their immediate family (spouse, child, father, mother, brother or sister, or the spouse or child of a child).⁴⁵⁵

Members have free mailing privileges, often referred to as franking privileges.⁴⁵⁶ Franking is the process by which Members of the House of Commons, by affixing their signatures to an addressed piece of mail, may have that mail delivered postage-free anywhere in the country. It is available only for mail that is addressed to places in Canada and may not be used for parcels, special delivery or other special services offered by Canada Post. Mail addressed to Members is also delivered free of charge if sent to a Parliament Hill address. These mailing privileges begin on the day the notice of the Member’s election is published by the Chief Electoral Officer in the Canada Gazette and end 10 calendar days after that person ceases to be a Member.⁴⁵⁷

Once each Parliament, Members may relocate their primary residence or establish a secondary residence in the National Capital Region at any time following their election to the House of Commons.⁴⁵⁸ Members are also allocated a travel status expenses account to offset the cost of meals, incidentals and accommodation expenses incurred while on official business more than 100 kilometres from their principal residence.⁴⁵⁹ This budget also helps Members offset some of the costs involved in maintaining two households, one in their constituency and one in the National Capital Region. Members are also allowed up to 64 regular return trips per year to travel between Ottawa and their constituency, and on occasion elsewhere in Canada, to Washington, D.C. and to New York, subject to certain conditions.⁴⁶⁰

When Parliament is dissolved, Members of the House of Commons are discharged from their responsibility to attend the sittings of the House and cease to be Members of Parliament. However, their offices in Ottawa and in their constituency remain open to provide services to constituents, but they may not be used for electoral purposes. Accordingly, between the date Parliament is dissolved and the day of the election, budgetary funds, goods, services and premises made available by the House to its Members are to be used to assist Members in providing services to their constituents, although some services may be modified or suspended.⁴⁶¹ In addition, Members are entitled to one return trip per week between their constituency and Ottawa during this period.⁴⁶²

Members who are defeated or who did not seek re-election are provided with travel benefits for the equivalent of two return trips in the 30 days following the election date to come to Ottawa to close their office. If a Member resigns before Parliament is dissolved, one return trip is allowed in the 30 days following the day of the Member’s resignation to close his or her office.

On behalf of the Board of Internal Economy, the Speaker of the House of Commons publishes the Members’ Expenditures Report on the House of Commons website at such time as may be determined by the Board, which is currently every three months.⁴⁶³ This report discloses each Member’s expenses pertaining to employee salaries, service contracts, travel, hospitality, gifts, advertising, printing and office operations. Members may review and approve their portion of the Members’ Expenditures Report prior to disclosure.

436.: Detailed information on Members’ remuneration, pensions and allowances is published in the Members’ Allowances and Services Manual. The Manual is posted on the House of Commons website.
437.: Parliament of Canada Act, supra note 9, ss 55.1 and 56. In 1867, Members received a sessional allowance of six dollars a day if a session did not extend beyond 30 days; if the session continued longer, Members received a sessional allowance of $600. See Bourinot, Parliamentary Procedure and Practice, 4th ed., pp. 153–6. For an overview of the evolution of the sessional allowance, see Supporting Democracy, vol. 2, pp. 32–3. Until 2001, Members also received an incidental expense allowance which was non-accountable (i.e., Members did not have to document their use of the allowance with receipts) and it was not subject to income tax. From 1975 until 2001, when it was amended (2001, c. 20, s 9), the Parliament of Canada Act, supra note 9, required that within two months after the date fixed for the return of the writs for a general election, the Governor in Council appoint a commission to determine the adequacy of indemnities and various allowances payable to members of the Senate and the House of Commons and to report back with recommendations, if deemed necessary, within six months. The commission’s report was tabled in the House by a Minister, typically the Government House Leader, and permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. Following the tabling of each commission’s report, the government would introduce legislation respecting the allowances of Members of Parliament. The last such report was tabled in the House on May 29, 2001 (Journals, p. 449).
438.: Parliament of Canada Act, supra note 9, ss 62.1–62.3. The Act provides an exception for the Liaison Committee of the House of Commons and the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament, ss 62.1(1)(g) and 62.1(1)(h). The amount of the additional salary varies with the position and commences with the date of appointment. See also Salaries Act, RSC 1985, c S-3, s 4.1 [Salaries Act].
439.: Parliament of Canada Act, supra note 9, ss 55.1(2)(b) and 67.1; Salaries Act, supra note 438, s 4.2. This index is published by the Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada within three months of the end of the calendar year. The salaries are rounded down to the nearest hundred dollars. See the remarks of Tony Valeri (Government House Leader) at second reading of Bill C-30, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act and the Salaries Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts, 1st Sess, 38th Parl, 2005, on December 8, 2004 (Debates, pp. 2461–3).
440.: Parliament of Canada Act, supra note 9, s 55(2).
441.: Ibid., s 69. The additional salaries of certain House Officers (the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the leaders and House Leaders of recognized opposition parties, and the Chief Whips of recognized parties) and positions (Prime Minister and Ministers) also continue through dissolution.
442.: Debates, June 25, 1952, pp. 3678–80.
443.: RSC 1985, c M-5, ss 16, 17 and 17.1. Members contribute a fixed percentage of their sessional allowance towards their retirement benefits. Members receiving additional salaries or allowances for extra duties such as House Officers, Whips, Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries may contribute the same percentage of their additional allowances. Contributions under the Act are ordinarily mandatory, but were made optional for Members of the Thirty-Fifth Parliament (SC 1995, c 30, s 2). In 1998, amendments to the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowance Act, RSC 1985, c M-5 [Members of Parliament Retiring Allowance Act] permitted Members who opted out of the pension plan during the Thirty-Fifth Parliament to opt back in (SC 1998, c 23, s 10). For Members who chose not to opt back in, a supplementary severance allowance was provided. In 2000, the Act was amended to make contributions again mandatory and to permit those Members who had opted out of the plan to buy back their years of service (SC 2000, c 27). See the remarks of Don Boudria (Government House Leader) at second reading of Bill C-37, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act and the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act, 2nd Sess, 36th Parl, 2000 (Debates, June 12, 2000, pp. 7851–4). In 2012, the Act was again amended to increase the contribution rate, raise the retirement age, harmonize benefits with those paid under the Canada Pension Plan and adjust the allowance for future former Prime Ministers.
444.: Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act, supra note 443, s 18. The withdrawal allowance is the return of the pension contributions plus interest.
445.: Parliament of Canada Act, supra note 9, ss 70 and 71.
446.: Supra note 9, s 52.5(1)(b). For further information on the Board of Internal Economy, see Chapter 6, “The Physical and Administrative Setting”.
447.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Members By-law, s 1(1).
448.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Governance and Administration By-law, s 16(1).
449.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Members By-law, s 56(1), and supra note 1. In 2004, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs recommended that the Board of Internal Economy review the resources needed by Members representing rural or remote ridings according to a formula that accounts for riding size, riding population and the provincial quotient (Seventeenth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House on April 2, 2004 (Journals, p. 264)). For more information, see the budgets section of the Members’ Allowances and Services Manual, available on the House of Commons website (Board of Internal Economy, “Members’ Allowances and Services Manual”, http://www.ourcommons.ca/smartweb/mas/document.aspx?language=e).
450.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Members By-law, ss 22 to 33. In 2001, Deborah Grey (Edmonton North) rose on a question of privilege claiming that her password-protected computer files which had been stored on the Alliance server in a group named “CA Leader”, a position the Member no longer held, had been frozen and shut down by the Canadian Alliance. Furthermore, she argued that without negotiation or representation from her office, the House of Commons Information Services Directorate had given permission to a staff member of the Alliance Whip’s office to access her computer files. The Member believed that there had been an infringement of her responsibilities as a Member and she asked the Speaker to respond to her concerns (Debates, September 27, 2001, pp. 5672–4). Speaker Milliken found cause for disquiet in the fact that an officer of the Alliance, on the request of the Canadian Alliance Whip, was granted access to the disputed files to review and determine their appropriate disposition. The Speaker added that while this error might well have been an honest mistake, the fact remained that the action taken could have been viewed as potentially damaging to the Member’s ability to represent her constituents. Subsequently, he directed that the remaining disputed files being held on the Alliance server be returned immediately to the Member. Furthermore, he directed the Administration of the House to establish new protocols to ensure that files and data belonging to Members, including caucus officers, be kept as originally intended on Members’ servers and not on caucus servers (Debates, October 15, 2001, pp. 6081–2).
451.: Parliament of Canada Act, supra note 9, s 52.6(1). In its Fourth Report presented to the House and concurred in on June 1, 1990, the Special Committee on the Review of the Parliament of Canada Act proposed amendments to the Act to clarify the jurisdiction and the authority of the Board of Internal Economy (Journals, pp. 1797–804). In particular, the Special Committee wanted to ensure that Members would not be exposed to charges or proceedings based on a misunderstanding of the nature of their work or the structure and rules of the House of Commons.
452.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Members By-law, s 19. In 2014, after allegations were brought to its attention and an investigation was conducted, the Board of Internal Economy determined that some New Democratic Party Members had inappropriately used parliamentary resources for certain travel, employment and telecommunication expenses. On February 3, 2015, the Board decided that, since the individual Members’ office budgets had been used to supplement the party’s research office budget, each participating Member would have to personally reimburse the salary costs in question (Board of Internal Economy Statements, August 12, 2014; February 3, 2015).
453.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Members By-law, s 61. In 1913, secretarial assistance was first made available to Members for a few days at a time. Beginning in 1916, Members shared a pool of secretaries who were laid off during periods of recess and dissolution. In 1958, secretaries became dedicated to individual Members. In 1968, each Member was authorized to hire one full-time secretary. In 1974, a second full-time secretary was authorized for each Member. The same year, constituency offices were established. In 1978, each Member received a staff budget of $58,000, including at least $12,000 for constituency staff, to be used at the Member’s discretion for staffing requirements. The pay and terms and conditions of employment for Members’ staff are set down in the Members’ Allowances and Services Manual, available on the House of Commons website (Board of Internal Economy, “Members’ Allowances and Services Manual”, http://www.ourcommons.ca/smartweb/mas/document.aspx?language=e).
454.: The Board has established three categories of employees for Members and House Officers: regular employees (who are employed full-time or part-time for a period of more than six months); short-term employees (who are employed for six months or less, either full-time or part-time); and on-call employees (who are employed as needed). See the Members’ Allowances and Services Manual, available on the House of Commons website. In addition, the House of Commons Policy on Preventing and Addressing Harassment, approved by the Board of Internal Economy in 2014, applies to Members of Parliament and House Officers as employers, to their employees, and to the employees of research offices, interns and volunteers. The Policy is posted on the House of Commons website (Board of Internal Economy, “House of Commons Policy on Preventing and Addressing Harassment”, https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/BOIE/pdf/policy_preventing_harassment-e.pdf).
455.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Members By-law, ss 62(1) and 65(1).
456.: Canada Post Corporation Act, RSC 1985, c C-10, s 35(2) and 35(3) [Canada Post Corporation Act]. On occasion, questions of privilege have been raised alleging the misuse of these privileges. The Speaker has ruled that the breach of mailing and householder guidelines does not obstruct in any way a Member from carrying out the activities for which he or she was elected (Debates, March 18, 1987, pp. 4301–2; April 13, 1989, p. 458; December 4, 2008, pp. 605–6). The Chair has indicated, however, that a question of privilege could exist if the content of the communication sent out under the frank “worked against the right of Members to free expression and the carrying out of their obligations as Members” (Debates, October 16, 1986, pp. 405–6). In the spring of 2014, the Board of Internal Economy considered a matter related to large-volume mailings conducted by Members of the New Democratic Party in ridings that were not held by Members of their party. On June 3, 2014, the Board decided that certain mailings had been prepared by and for the benefit of the New Democratic Party as a political party and that these mailings had served to advance its electoral interests, in contravention of the by-laws. On June 12, 2014, the Board decided that 23 Members would have to personally reimburse the Receiver General for Canada for the direct costs to the House of Commons (Board of Internal Economy Statements, March 24, 2014; June 3, 2014; June 12, 2014). For further information, see Chapter 3, “Privileges and Immunities”.
457.: Canada Post Corporation Act, supra note 456, s 35(5).
458.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Members By-law, s 55.
459.: Ibid., ss 34, 35 and 44.
460.: Ibid., s 41. Travel provisions have changed dramatically since Confederation. In 1867, travel expenses were authorized at 10 cents per mile for a return trip, once per session, between Ottawa and the constituency. In 1903, free rail transportation, without limitation, was made available to Members, their spouses and dependent children. Access to free rail transportation ended as of July 1, 1996 with the repeal of the Canadian National Railway Act, SC 1996, c 10. Nonetheless, Members, their spouses and dependants are entitled to free VIA train transportation in Canada in accordance with VIA Rail Canada’s policy, subject to some conditions. These rail travel privileges cease once they are no longer Members. Spouses and dependents also enjoy reduced rates in situations where they do not travel free of charge. For more information on the rail transportation provisions, see the “New Rail Pass Program from VIA Rail for Federal Parliamentarians”. For information on air transportation provisions, which were first authorized in 1948, see Commission to Review Allowances of Members of Parliament, Democratic Ideals and Financial Realities: Paying Representatives in the 21st Century (Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1994), pp. 57–9.
461.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Members By-law, s 95. For example, pursuant to section 96(1) of the Members By-law, mailing, franking, and householder production services are only available for 10 days following dissolution of a Parliament.
462.: Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, Members By-law, s 101.
463.: Ibid., s 13. Until 2012, this report was tabled in the House by the Speaker. See, for example, Journals, September 28, 2006, p. 469; October 17, 2007, p. 8. On September 30, 2013, the Board of Internal Economy amended the Members By-law to have the report published on the House of Commons website rather than tabled in the House. Since April 1, 2014, the Members’ Expenditures Report has been produced every quarter and posted on the website in the three months following each quarter. On March 5, 2014, the House adopted an opposition motion calling for the disclosure of additional information in the report (Journals, pp. 625–7). The Board of Internal Economy considered the matter on March 24 and April 7, 2014 (Board of Internal Economy Statement, May 7, 2014).

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