The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says MLAs shouldn’t be raising their own salaries off the backs of taxpayers who are struggling to afford gas and groceries.

Prairie Director Gage Haubrich says the CTF is calling on Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to join NDP leader Carla Beck in calling for a pay freeze for MLAs which includes stopping a pay increase now scheduled for Apr. 1.

The CTF says in Saskatchewan, MLA pay raises are tied to inflation for the previous year. Last year inflation was 6.8 per cent. This would see pay raises for MLAs ranging from an extra $7,023 for a backbench MLA to an extra $12,131 for Premier Scott Moe.

Backbench MLAs currently earn $103,285 annually. Premier Moe earns $178,406. The base pay MLAs receive is close to double what the average person earns in the province.

The CTF also points out that other provinces have stopped pay increases for MLAs. In Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston stopped an automatic pay raise for Nova Scotia MLAs and cut his own pay by $11,000. Late last year, British Columbia MLAs also stopped their automatic pay increase.