Each member of the legislative assembly of B.C. receives an annual basic compensation of $111,024.19.

A number of MLAs earn more.

MLAs who hold a ministerial or parliamentary office receive additional pay corresponding to a percentage of their basic pay.

For example, the Premier gets an extra $99,921.77. The Leader of the Opposition receives an additional $55,512.10. The Leader of the Third Party gets $ 27,756.05.

Also, the chairperson of a select standing or special committee earns an extra $16,653.63. The list goes on.

The Communist Party of B.C. believes MLAs are paid too much.

In its platform for the October 24, 2020 election, the party proposes to adjust the salaries of MLAs.

According to the Communist Party of B.C., legislative assembly members should be paid at the “average wage of a BC worker”.

The platform did not provide a computation.

However, the suggestion means a 46 percent pay cut, or slashing MLA salaries by almost half.

Based on the provincial government’s official figures, British Columbians working full-time in 2019 earned an average weekly wage of $1,156.10.

Multiplied by 52 weeks, this represents an annual average salary of $60,117.20.

The Communist Party of B.C. is running five candidates in the October 24 election.

They are Kimball Cariou, Vancouver Hastings; Ryan Abbot, Surrey-Whalley; Florian Castle, Oak Bay-Gordon Head; Tyson Strandlund, Langford-Juan de Fuca; and Walt Parsons, Victoria-Swan Lake.

Details of the party platform here.