Abbotsford MLA Mike de Jong received $142,603 in pay last year, making him the highest-paid provincial politician in the Abbotsford-Mission region, according to the annual compensation report released this week.
De Jong received a basic salary of $101,859, and accrued an additional $40,743 for being the minister of finance.
Maple Ridge-Mission MLA Marc Dalton earned $118,938, with his base salary ringing in a $101,859, plus $15,571 for his role as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of education for the independent school sector. Dalton also earned another $1,507 for sitting as a member of the cabinet committee on Secure Tomorrow.
Darryl Plecas, MLA for Abbotsford South, received a total of $102,208, which includes a basic pay of $89,859, in addition to $12,349 for his position as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice and attorney general for crime reduction.
MLA for Abbotsford-Mission, Simon Gibson, was paid a total of $89,859 for his duties.
The report tallies earnings from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014.
Travel expenses
Financial details of travel and accommodation costs accumulated by MLAs were also released this week.
Due to his ministerial duties, de Jong again incurred the highest cost in the past year, $62,305. This is broken down as $7,341 for accommodation in Victoria, $2,425 for travel while in Victoria on Legislative Assembly business, $4,386 for in-constituency travel, $23,020 in general travel costs (not within the constituency), $617 for two guest trips and $24,516 in out of province/country travel.
De Jong recently travelled to Toronto for two events at the upcoming Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit and the Economic Club of Canada. British Columbia’s LNG opportunity, economic outlook and investment opportunities were among topics of discussions. The estimated travel and accommodation cost for the minister and a staff member was approximately $3,900.
Dalton's travel fees totalled $42,721. His spending was divided up as such: $12,000 for accommodation in Victoria, $2,644 for travel while in Victoria on Legislative Assembly business, $4,386 for in-constituency travel, $16,212 in general travel costs (not within the constituency), $3,568 for nine guest trips and $3,911 for speaker approved travel.
Plecas' reports showed he spend $33,491, which includes $10,000 for accommodation, $2,783 for travel in Victoria, $4,177 for in-constituency travel, $15,801 for general travel, and $725 for two guest trips.
Gibson, who was elected as MLA last May, spent $22,298. His costs were $4,409 for accommodation, $1,523 for travel in Victoria, $4,177 for in-constituency travel, 10,680 for general travel, and $1,509 for four guest trips.