Premier Wall declines salary top-up from Sask. Party over 'misperception'

Brad Wall won’t get his $37,000 salary top-up from the Saskatchewan Party anymore.

Because of what has been viewed as negative perceptions, the premier has asked that the stipend be discontinued.

“To the extent that there is any misunderstanding or misperception of what this is, I just think it is not worth it, I don’t want that to reflect on the government or the party,” Wall told reporters in the legislature Monday.

There had been criticism of the money, not just because of the perception of influence from out-of-province corporate donors, but it was being received when public sector workers may face wage cuts in the upcoming budget.

“The important signal to look for is that if we are going to be asking the public sector to consider a reduction in overall compensation, the MLAs and ministers should lead by example first,” Wall stated.

“If we’re to ask them to negotiate less in terms of overall compensation, then we must lead by example and you’ll see more on that here in the days ahead.”

There has already been some talk of the MLAs not taking their annual increase this year as determined by the board of internal economy.