Former MNA Amir Khadir donating his severance pay

Khadir to donate $90,000 Former Quebec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir says he wants to set an example by donating his $90,000 severance payment from the National Assembly

Former Quebec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir is going to donate his $90,000 transitional allowance to community groups in his riding of Mercier.

This is the first time that a provincial politician is going to give away his severance pay in this manner. In an interview with The Canadian Press, Khadir, who is a medical specialist, said he did not need the money.

Khadir is splitting the sum into three $20,000 and three $10,000 funds, each of which will go to different community groups or recognized charities.

He said he's ready and waiting to receive proposals from established groups in need.

A team of riding officials from Mercier, including Khadir, will evaluate the proposals and decide which groups will get the grants.

Khadir also wants to make a statement to other MNAs who leave politics and quickly return to work.

"If people who, like me, leave (politics) and immediately return to work as a lawyer, engineer or doctor, and have a source of income, I do not see why they should use these funds," he said.

He said he was thinking, in particular, of Yves Bolduc, the former Minister of Education who resigned in 2015 and received $150,000 while returning to practice medicine.

The transitional allowance for MNAs who resign during their term of office has since been eliminated, except for those who resign due to health or family reasons.

MNAs who are defeated in an election, or who complete a term in office and then step down, are still eligible.

The allowance is paid at the end of the member's term and at his request, either in one installment or over a period of up to 36 months.

Khadir said he wants MNAs to think of the severance pay strictly as a transitional allowance.

"We must put the idea in the minds of our colleagues that we must conceive of it as a transitional allowance, and not as a bonus to which we would be entitled and that we would put in our pocket whatever our circumstances," said Khadir.

"The laws could change, the Office of the National Assembly could think about establishing a rule that frames this, (...) a mechanism that takes into account the real possibility of finding a job. (...) It can be an allocation that is not given in bulk."

Khadir represented the Montreal riding of Mercier for ten years, between 2008 and 2018. Born in Tehran, Iran, he holds a medical degree from Laval University and a master's degree in physics from McGill University. He is a doctor specialized in infectious diseases.