The Prime Minister’s Office called me Tuesday night.
And an assistant to Brian Mulroney asked me if I would like to be a senator.
But first, the caller from the PMO wanted to know my stand on the Goods and Services Tax. He explained that the prime minister was looking for new senators who would vote in favour of the tax so it could finally get through the Senate.
“I’m definitely against it,” I said, firmly. “I think it will be inflationary and will hit the poorest people the hardest.”
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The PMO assistant then told me that the annual salary of a senator is $62,000.
“The GST in my view is just another fancy tax grab,” I countered. “Calling it revenue neutral is like calling the North Pole a mite frosty.”
Ignoring my comment, the assistant then informed me that a senator also gets an annual tax-free allowance of $9,800.
“Perhaps the GST wouldn’t have been so bad if it had been set up differently,” I said. “As it is, it is so complicated, with all those forms business people and farmers will have to fill out. And all those rebates. Maybe it would have been better to just tax everything and cut the rate in half.”
The caller then asked me if I knew that each senator is eligible for $30,000 a year to hire a secretary. I didn’t.
“What the GST has suffered from most,” I replied, “is poor public relations. The prime minister went ahead before the tax was even passed into law and hired thousands of new tax collectors across the country. The government also had pamphlets printed and took out ads in the media, as if it had already been passed. Canadians don’t like this kind of high-handedness.”
Mulroney’s assistant then said in passing that a senator also gets $15,000 a year for research and administrative costs.
“But, you know, on the other hand,” I suggested, “you can’t blame the prime minister for trying to take the tough decisions regardless of the outcome. There’s something admirable about that.”
At this point, the caller revealed that upon retirement, each senator gets three per cent of his or her base pay for each year of service. Based on 20 years of service, this means the average senator gets a retirement package of 60 per cent of his or her salary.
Interrupting, I continued: “And you know, it is about time Canadians realized that it’s time to pay the piper for the tune we’ve been calling for the last 25 years …”
A retired senator with 20 years of service makes $37,260 a year for the rest of his or her life, the PMO guy said.
“And it seems to me,” I added, “that the GST offers probably the best way of finally getting control of our $30 billion deficit and our $400 billion debt. And now that I think of it, it’s awful for unelected Liberals in the Senate to be holding up a bill the democratically elected government wants.
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“By the way,” I asked the caller, “are senators, by any chance, exempted from paying the GST?”
The assistant didn’t answer. He said he had to go.
“And do senators get paid every week or once a month?” I wanted to know.
Again no answer.
“Can senators take free research trips to Europe and do they get free use of a car and what about a clothing allowance and …”
The caller prepared to hang up.
“I LOVE THE GST,” I yelled into the phone. “BELIEVE ME. I REALLY DO.”
Click.
Oh, please let him call back.
I didn’t fully realize it till this moment, but I now know my deepest heart’s desire has always been to be a Canadian senator.
©1990 Jim Hagarty
