One of the great things about democracy is you get to vote for your representative. One of the bad things about democracy is you don't get to vote very often. The last provincial election was in 2018. Before that, it was 2014. And before that it was 2011. So you only voted 3 times in the last 9 years for your provincial representative.
The Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the riding of Essex is Taras Natyshak. He has been the MPP for Essex since 2011. A provincial MPP gets paid a base salary of $116,500 per year. MPPs get paid extra money for sitting on committees and participating in other parliamentary duties.
Mr. Natyshak has been the MPP for the riding of Essex for about 9 years. That means he has been paid about $1,048,500 over the last nine years ($116,500 x 9 years = $1,048,500). That's over one million dollars. He's the million-dollar man.
It's important to note that an MPP does not "report to work" like you and me. MPPs can pretty much use their day the way they want. So that means MPPs can really become experts in many topics, if they want to. And after 9 years, you would hope that your local MPP would be an expert in your riding.
I don't see any evidence of that.
Rather, after 9 years, you don't hear much from Mr. Natyshak at all. Last year he was complaining about water quality in Chatham-Kent. That didn't make much sense since Chatham-Kent is not in his riding. Below is a map of the riding of Essex. You will see that Chatham-Kent is actually in the riding immediately east of Essex.
The Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the riding of Essex is Taras Natyshak. He has been the MPP for Essex since 2011. A provincial MPP gets paid a base salary of $116,500 per year. MPPs get paid extra money for sitting on committees and participating in other parliamentary duties.
Mr. Natyshak has been the MPP for the riding of Essex for about 9 years. That means he has been paid about $1,048,500 over the last nine years ($116,500 x 9 years = $1,048,500). That's over one million dollars. He's the million-dollar man.
It's important to note that an MPP does not "report to work" like you and me. MPPs can pretty much use their day the way they want. So that means MPPs can really become experts in many topics, if they want to. And after 9 years, you would hope that your local MPP would be an expert in your riding.
I don't see any evidence of that.
Rather, after 9 years, you don't hear much from Mr. Natyshak at all. Last year he was complaining about water quality in Chatham-Kent. That didn't make much sense since Chatham-Kent is not in his riding. Below is a map of the riding of Essex. You will see that Chatham-Kent is actually in the riding immediately east of Essex.
Meanwhile, there are two very big outstanding issues in the riding of Essex. Firstly, the widening of Highway 3. Secondly, the construction of the new regional hospital. To date, I have heard nothing of any consequence from our MPP to advance either one of those issues.
When I say "nothing of any consequence," I mean more than just complaining. I mean that an MPP can be an expert and an advocate. For a million dollars, I want more than someone who complains. I want someone who knows how to advocate for the riding, to advance an argument, to advance a cause, and to make the case on behalf of the taxpayers. But apart from occasional complaining, we have heard nothing from the MPP for Essex about these two important issues.
So you have to ask the question: Are we getting our money's worth? After spending over one million dollars (or more) on your MPP, do you feel that you got one million dollars worth of service over the last 9 years?
I don't think so.
When I say "nothing of any consequence," I mean more than just complaining. I mean that an MPP can be an expert and an advocate. For a million dollars, I want more than someone who complains. I want someone who knows how to advocate for the riding, to advance an argument, to advance a cause, and to make the case on behalf of the taxpayers. But apart from occasional complaining, we have heard nothing from the MPP for Essex about these two important issues.
So you have to ask the question: Are we getting our money's worth? After spending over one million dollars (or more) on your MPP, do you feel that you got one million dollars worth of service over the last 9 years?
I don't think so.