A number of residents are upset over the pay raise that Wood Buffalo council members voted for themselves, with some receiving a new salary that is more than double what they were making before they voted to give themselves a hefty raise. As soon as the news reached the public there was anger and outrage. The votes meant that a part time salary for a council member went from a little over $35,000 to $75,000. 3 members of the council were designated as full time council members, and their salaries were increased to $150,000 per year, the same salary as Mayor Melissa Blake makes. This is the highest salary amount for a council member in Canada, even higher than Toronto and other much larger cities.

Some on the Wood Buffalo council who voted for the pay raise defended their vote. Colleen Tatum took to a Facebook post to defend her decision to vote for and accept the enormous pay raise, posting “Childcare, lost time in my business, lost opportunities elsewhere do cost me much more than I ever earn. It does seem obscene on face value, to ask for a raise in these extreme and very hard times, but the justification I do feel is there.” Mayor Melissa Blake and a number of council members voted against the pay increase but they were outnumbered. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation Alberta director Paige MacPherson asked “Was such a dramatic wage increase really necessary right now? That’s a fair question for residents and taxpayers to be asking. These are now some of the highest base salaries of any major centre in Canada. It’s unprecedented for a councillor to make the same or more as any mayor.”