Name MLAS who gave back cash, Sherman says
Liberal Leader Raj Sherman stepped up his challenge to Alison Redford to name Tory MLAS who have given back their pay from a legislature committee that hasn’t met in years — and remove candidates who haven’t returned the cash.
“If they haven’t given the money back to Albertans, I challenge her to remove them from her party and her team before the vote is called,” he said.
“Not after the election — remove them from the ballot before the election if they haven’t paid it back with compound interest.”
Sherman sent an open letter Wednesday to the Progressive Conservative leader, asking for a progress report on the repayments made by 16 Tories who sat on the all-party committee.
After the election was called, Redford vowed her MLAS would pay back “every penny” earned from the committee. Sherman, who sat on the committee as a Tory MLA before leaving the party, wrote a cheque for nearly $44,000 to hand back his $1,000-a-month pay from the group.
PC party spokeswoman Kim Misik said in an e-mail that Redford has given Tory MLAS until her caucus meets again, after the election, to make their payment arrangements.
“That pledge stands,” Misik said. But MLAS will have to pay back as much as $40,000 and Redford is “understanding of people needing a little time to get an indication from the accountants as to the amount owing, and to make arrangements for repayment plans.”
When it comes to PC party MLAS who are retiring, or incumbents who fail to win their seat on April 23, Misik said there’s no way of compelling them to pay the cash back.
“It would be our hope that they would voluntarily do so, but we have no means at our disposal to enforce that.”