lessbull.com

Premier Alison Redford won’t force Tory MLAs who were paid for sitting on a legislative committee that never sat to return the money – but she suggested Thursday voters will judge members on how they handle the issue.

A controversy has blown up over the all-party privileges and elections committee, which has paid $1,000 a month to 21 MLAs despite not sitting since 2008.

Liberal Leader Raj Sherman, and Wildrose MLAs Heather Forsyth and Guy Boutilier have pledged to return the payment they have received for committee membership.

No Progressive Conservative MLAs — who made up the majority of members on the committee — have yet announced they will give money back.

“Every MLA who sat on that committee needs to make a choice as to what they do and they will be held accountable in the election for it,” said Redford on a Calgary radio talk show Thursday morning.

Redford announced earlier this week said that Tory MLAs will no longer accept stipends for serving on committees. She called during last year’s PC leadership campaign for an end to compensation for committee work.

Redford pointed to the appointment of a committee headed by former Supreme Court Justice John Major to review MLA pay, which she also promised during the leadership race, as a sign she knows there is a problem that needs to be fixed.

The Tories have been battered in recent weeks by a string of problems that have included the so-called “no meet committee,” allegations of bullying of municipal leaders, school officials and doctors and the suspension of Asia envoy Gary Mar — a former Tory leadership candidate and cabinet minister — over a potentially improper fundraiser.

Redford said she ran for leader in part because she had wanted to address concerns there was a sense of entitlement in the 41-year PC government.

“We’re seeing some things right now that I think are illustrating what has been in the past couple of years problematic and it’s not right and I don’t agree with it either,” she said.

Redford herself has come under heavy fire herself over the narrow scope given to a public inquiry into health care queue-jumping

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Pre … story.html

Statistics: Posted by yoda — Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:17 pm