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Wall, who was elected as the MLA for Swift Current in 1999, is entitled to claim the full amount. Boyd’s current stint in the legislature began in November 2007, which would make him eligible for $77,345. However, he did not claim the allowance after stepping down as the MLA for Kindersley in 2002 after 11 years, and is therefore able to claim the full amount, according to the province.

Saskatchewan’s approach to compensating elected officials is generally more responsible than that of other provinces, chiefly because it does not have a defined benefit pension plan, but the transition allowance is still too much and halving it would be a “good first step,” said Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) prairie director Todd MacKay.

“Capping it at even six months would still leave a very generous allowance but it would show leadership in reducing that cost,” MacKay said. “I think (Wall and Boyd volunteering to accept less than the maximum) would be a great thing to see, but more important would be to fix the overall policy for the future.”

The CTF has long advocated against the transition allowance. In a 2006 report submitted to a legislative committee, the advocacy group recommended eliminating it altogether based on the principle that a sitting MLA who loses an election is effectively fired for “just cause,” and that private sector employees terminated for the same reason do not typically receive severance.

“We do have to give them credit that they reduced their own salaries by 3.5 per cent,” MacKay said of the government’s decision, taken as part of its larger strategy to cut costs in the face of a $1.2 billion deficit. “That’s an important move, and it’s an important piece of leadership. But it would be right to follow through with that leadership and reduce the transition allowances as well.”