Their message is clear: politicians who’ve defrauded taxpayers don’t deserve plump parliamentary pensions paid for by those same taxpayers.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation‘s new 30-second TV spot opens with a photo of former senator Raymond Lavigne. It points out that when Lavigne was in jail for defrauding taxpayers while in office, he collected a plump parliamentary pension (CTF’s estimate pegs it at $67,600 a year), and still does today.
Lavigne served six months for fraud and breach of trust, in part for filing false expense claims.
The ad encourages support of Bill C-518 – a private members bill that, if passed, would revoke the parliamentary pension of senators or members of Parliament convicted of crimes such as fraud, theft or breach of trust.
The spot asks viewers to support the bill by signing the CTF’s petition at Taxpayer.com.
The Protecting Taxpayers and Revoking Pensions of Convicted Politicians Act was introduced by John Williamson, Conservative MP for New Brunswick Southwest.
CTF federal director Gregory Thomas said in a release that “Canadians are sick and tired of watching politicians use their positions to fill their pockets, only to resign before they are convicted and walk away with a massive pension that was mostly funded by taxpayers.”
The next hour of debate for the bill’s second reading will likely take place this week. The ad will air on CTV News Channel and Sun News Network, and will run for two weeks.
