Coderre would be eligible for the same services offered to all members of parliament:
Members also have access to Parliamentary facilities and services such as the Public Information Office and its education and visitor services; the Library of Parliament and its research services; and language training in either French or English for the Members, their spouses, and their employees. Food services are available at the Centre Block Restaurant as well as a number of cafeterias, canteens and lounges, and room service; preventive health services. Daycare services for Members and their staff, mini-bus transportation between Parliamentary buildings, and other services, such as a barber shop, beauty salon, tailor, steam room, massage therapist, recreation room and gymnasium are also accessible to Members. Further, each MP receives offices in one of the buildings around Parliament as assigned by the Sergeant-at-Arms in consultation with party officials. Finally, substantial research funds are made available to officially recognized parties (i.e. those with a minimum of 12 elected M.P.s), with Government receiving significantly more than the Official Opposition or 2nd Party Opposition.
Each Member also receives an Office Budget which can be used for Ottawa office staff costs, a constituency office and its staff costs and operating expenses, constituency travel expenses, and certain other authorized expenses. (See attached.) There is also a graduated Elector Supplement for constituencies where the number of electors is 70,000 or more, and a graduated Geographic Supplement for constituencies where the area to be served is 8000 square kilometres or more. (See attached.) Members also receive $3000 per Parliament if re-elected or $5000 if newly elected for the purchase of furniture and equipment for constituency offices. In addition, Members have free mailing privileges to anywhere in Canada and constituents may send mail to a Member free of postage from anywhere in Canada.
Also, Members may hire staff with their office budgets, whose rates of pay are determined by the Member upon appointment, but may not exceed an annual rate of $60,460, and pay increases may be made up to three times each year, not including raises resulting from promotions. Members, as employers, recruit, hire, promote, define job responsibilities, and discharge staff "for cause," although in reality staff can likely be discharged even without cause. However, MP employment practices are subject to human rights legislation if there is discrimination on gender, age, religion, race, etc. Furthermore, an MP is not allowed to hire a spouse or family members--there were even uproars in the past when M.P.s hired each other’s children. http://www.david-kilgour.com/mp/house.htm
We have a monsterous department allocated for all things First Nations, they have staffers there that spend all their days just preparing BNs for members and Ministers. In this day and age of rapid communication ability there is no excuse for any elected member of government not to be able to research before they open mouth to insert foot.
