Brad Wall. Photo courtesy of Manfred Joehnck.
Saskatchewan’s premier has decided to go from one of the highest paid premiers in the country to one of the lowest.
He has decided to end the practice of receiving a leaders allowance to cover additional party expenses. The allowance provided an extra $37,000 a year on top of his salary of $166,000.
He says taking an 18 per cent pay cut was the right thing to do to avoid any negative perceptions.
“You know, if there is any misconception at all about what this means or doesn’t mean, it’s just not worth it,” he said. “I don’t want this to reflect poorly on the government or the party.”
The NDP has long called for the practice to end. Interim leader, Trent Wotherspoon, says Brad Wall has already collected close to $400,000 from it.
“It’s been offensive and wrong since the get go.” he said. “It should have been scrapped a long time ago, it never should have happened, but I guess this is recognition of it being wrong.”
Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne is the highest paid at $209,000. She’s followed by Alberta’s Premier, Rachel Notley, at about $207,000 a year, while Yukon’s Premier, Sandy Silver, is the lowest paid at about $93,000 dollars a year.
With the pay cut, Brad Wall is now the fifth-lowest paid premier in Canada.
Premier Wall is currently Canada’s longest standing premier.