Legislators seek to cut politician’s salary

Ontario legislators voted Wednesday to reduce a politician’s salary during the pandemic after he introduced a similar motion intended for all members. Speaker Ted Arnott later ruled that motion out of order, saying pay cuts to legislative members must be done through legislation. roman baber, a former Progressive Conservative who now sits as an independent, accused the government house leader of making light of a situation many Ontarians are struggling with. but house leader Paul Calandra said he’s concerned about setting the precedent of passing bills without proper debate. baber had introduced a bill to reduce members’ salaries to $500 per week — the same amount as the federal aid made available to Canadians who lost work during the first wave of lockdowns last year. Calandra said he expected the Speaker to toss his motion directed at baber, and that he had introduced it to make a point.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has revealed the price of a potential Canadian-made COVID-19 vaccine as part of his ongoing effort to persuade other provinces to join his government in buying it. He says Manitoba has agreed to pay $18 a dose to Alberta-based Providence Therapeutics, which has recently started clinical trials of its proposed vaccine. Pallister said that price could drop if other provinces signed on and Providence received a large number of orders. Pallister first announced the deal last week, and has been talking with other premiers about signing on. So far, there have been no other commitments. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has said Providence might need orders totalling 50 million doses for domestic production to be feasible.