Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 06/01) - The time for MLAs in Nunavut and the NWT to say no, or not, to plush pension increases was last week.

In the western territory, just one of the five MLAs who voted against the pension increase chose not to sign up for the new pension plan.

"It wasn't very difficult," said Inuvik Boot Lake MLA Floyd Roland of the decision to say no to the additional $478 per month the supplementary plan would have paid him starting at age 60.

The three Nunavut MLAs who voted against increasing their pensions walked the walk when it came time to sign into the extra plan.

Quttiktuq representative Rebecca Williams (who was not in the assembly at the time of the final vote) joined Iqaluit MLAs Hunter Tootoo, Paul Okalik and Ed Picco in not accepting the new pension.

The second Nunavut pension will put an extra $416 per month, at the minimum, in the pockets of regular MLAs there once they reach age 60.

Speaking in favour of the pension plan when it was debated last March, MLA James Arvaluk stated his 80-year-old father worked 40 years to earn a $1,000 monthly pension.

With the increase, Arvaluk and the other 14 members who signed up for the extra plan will collect a minimum of $1,166 a month once they turn 60 after just four years service.

Pension plans are funded by a combination of pay deductions and contributions by the employer, in this case, the territorial governments.

The Nunavut pension increase will cost taxpayers an estimated $2.7 million over the next four years. The share western taxpayers have to pay for their MLAs increased pensions will, for at least the next eight years, come from surplus money in the plan.

NWT MLAs Sandy Lee, Charles Dent, Michael Miltenberger and Michael McLeod voted against the supplementary pension but signed up for it.

McLeod, MLA for the Deh Cho, said he had hoped to raise the pension plan during the next election, but that was not an option.

"The way it was set up was that you have until April 30 and if you don't take it you will have no other opportunity, even if you get elected again."

At the time the pension was debated, McLeod said he could not support increasing MLAs pensions at a time when his constituents were occupied with trying economic and social conditions.

Lee announced last week all of the money she collects from the supplementary plan will go into a trust fund she set up to help women aiming to get involved in politics.

"I always thought of doing this when I'm older and richer," Lee said last week. "This trust is an empty house. It just happens that the money that gives birth to it is this pension plan, which will come into effect years down the road."

Lee said she has turned down money offered her in the past for speaking at Korean-Canadian events.

Of Korean heritage, Lee said she may channel such offers to the trust fund. She added that she has never asked for fees for speaking at such events.