Mayor Valerie Plante wants elected officials to freeze salaries, forego rate of inflation increase

Montreal mayor Valerie Plante is asking elected officials to make some sacrifices for the budget - she is proposing they forego their annual rate of inflation salary increase.

Plante said she's asking elected officials to do their part by freezing their salaries for the coming year and suspending the regular rate of inflation increase of 2.1%. She said that would save a little more than $130K  - every little bit counts, she added.

"We know it's been a special kind of year - there's COVID that's hit us and it's hit several economic sectors hard, many people in the population," said Plante during this week's executive committee meeting.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said that the proposal doesn't go far enough.

"Across the country, we've seen municipal leaders take voluntary pay cuts. By merely freezing her salary, Mayor Plante shows a lack of empathy for struggling taxpayers," said CTF Quebec Director Renaud Brossard in a statement. 

"It's our elected officials' turn to tighten their belts."

Brossard said Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart and other municipal councillors announced they would be cutting their salaries by 10 per cent last April; and that Halifax Mayor Mike Savage cut his salary by 20 per cent.

Plante's proposal will be up for debate at this month's city council meeting.