D1

Roger Haineault

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Three hundred and eight jobs opened up on the weekend. If you're an eligible voter for the most part, you're qualified for the position of MP - provided you're not a prisoner, have been found guilty lately of an election-related crime or conversely are not an official such as a judge or sheriff.

Of course, there is one small detail: you need to get the most votes from your friends and neighbours.

Before you make it to the polls, here are some of the steps you're going to have to undertake. Fundamental government for our country is undertaken by the House of Commons.

There are 308 geographical jurisdictions that make up the House.

Each riding can be contested by anyone, provided you get nominated and you have 100 constituents (or 50 depending on the size of the electoral district) sign for you.

The major political parties - the Conservatives, the Liberals and the NDP - have riding nominations where their candidate is chosen.

As a rule of thumb, most nominated candidates are those who are able to sign up the most local members (and as a result secure the vote).

While there are 13 other currently registered political parties, only the regional Bloc Quebecois plays a significant role in Parliament with 48 members of the House at dissolution.

The Green Party has just had its first taste of having an MP - Blair Wilson - who formerly sat as an Independent and migrated to the Greens at the end of August.

So if you haven't secured a nomination for a major party, you can either look up one of the more obscure groups - the aptly named Marijuana Party comes to mind - or you can organize, get nominated and run independently.

Even as an Independent, since an election can't be bought hypothetically, there are spending limits based on the number of voters per riding.

In round numbers, a candidate can spend to the following maximums: $2 per head for the first 15,000 voters, $1 per head for the next 10,000 voters and then $0.50 per head for the rest.

An upward adjustment can be made for geographically diverse ridings. So in a riding of 100,000 voters, a candidate can spend approximately $77,500.

However, they cannot fund this by themselves, if they are so inclined. In fact, they're limited to collecting a maximum of $1,100 per contributor, so it would appear that some level of broad-based support is needed.

The Income Tax Act allows a rich tax credit for this contribution. The net after-tax cost of this donation is only $509.

In addition, if the candidate secures at least 10 per cent of the available vote, he or she will be entitled to a reimbursement of 60 per cent of the actual paid election expenses.

For those who end up being elected, the base compensation for each session is $155,400 annually and paid monthly.

There is additional compensation depending on responsibilities. For instance, the prime minister earns another $155,400 plus a car allowance. A minister picks up an additional $74,400 plus a vehicle as well.

And even though your income as a minister seems huge at about $230,000 for the session, the federal bureaucrat (referred to as a deputy minister) who reports to you could be kissing $400,000 per annum in salary and bonuses.

If you're in it for the money, news reports over the past number of years suggest you'd be better off buying a convenience store. Something about less work and more opportunity.

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Roger Haineault is with Help 4 Taxes. He can be reached by email at roger@help4taxes.ca or by calling 443-HELP (4357). His column appears Mondays.