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  "description": "I expect my MPP to stand in the House and explain why his time is so much more valuable than mine.",
  "path": "/adams-my-mpp-works-13-weeks-a-year-i-work-49-something-has-gone-wrong/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-02T22:52:39.000Z",
  "site": "https://provincialtimes.ca",
  "tags": [
    "my local member, Todd McCarthy, collects $213,940 a year.",
    "for approximately twenty-one weeks following a short spring session,",
    "small donation.",
    "Read our Content Policy here."
  ],
  "textContent": "When I worked the line at Simcoe Street Diner for _**$33,000**_ a year, I knew the score. _Five days a week, forty-nine weeks a year, three weeks of vacation_ if the schedule allowed. That is what normal Ontarians do to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. If I'm lucky, my work at _The_ _Provincial Times_ brings in about $600 annually. It is not a salary that sustains a life, but it keeps me connected to the realities most people in my community face every single day.\n\nAt Queen's Park, my local member, Todd McCarthy, collects $213,940 a year. McCarthy is expected to work _four days a week for roughly thirteen weeks out of the year_. That comes to about _fifty-two days in the legislature_. The rest of us grind through full schedules without the option to declare the job done early.\n\nApparently the people's business at Queen's Park follows its own relaxed rules.\n\n## Subscribe for issues and perspectives that mainstream outlets often ignore\n\nWe bring insights, analysis, and news that challenge the status quo.\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nThis week the Ford PC's confirmed the House will rise for approximately twenty-one weeks following a short spring session, not returning until late October. _Six months._ While families across this province are _one paycheque away from the possibility of being unhoused and hungry_ , the legislature that is supposed to do something about it is packing up. **I desperately need the Ford PCs to explain _why_ they believe this schedule is fair or appropriate for the people they were elected to serve.**\n\nScandal after scandal has already damaged trust in this government. They have done very little to make the average citizen's life better amid rising costs and mounting pressures. Yet instead of remaining in session to debate and pass laws that might actually deliver relief, they are leaving early. How many pieces of legislation that could _improve life for working families, nurses, and teachers could be moved forward in those extra months?_ How many opportunities to prove they are serious about the struggles of ordinary Ontarians are being thrown away?\n\nTodd McCarthy represents the people of Durham. I expect him to take this fight into caucus, to urge the government to sit longer, and **to demand that Queen's Park prove to Ontarians and to the residents of this riding that these salaries are not _a waste of taxpayer money_ that could otherwise be spent on nurses and teachers. **Right now the numbers do not add up.\n\nA part-time legislature funded at six figures while the cost of living crushes the people who actually keep this province running is not a good look. Normal Ontarians do not get to work a fraction of the year and still draw a full executive salary while everything else gets harder. The Ford PCs campaigned on _respect for taxpayers and getting the job done_. A truncated session _followed by a half-year recess_ _does not match that promise._ It looks like entitlement.\n\nThe people of Durham and across Ontario are not stupid. We see the disconnect. **We want a legislature that shows up fully and consistently.** We want our MPPs to earn every dollar by treating public service as the full-time responsibility it is supposed to be. **It is time for Queen's Park to get back to work.** It is time for Todd McCarthy and every member of this government to _justify their paycheques by**delivering for the people who pay them**_. Anything less is an insult to every worker who cannot afford to clock out for six months.\n\n## Tired of seeing important stories swept under the rug by the right-wing establishment media?\n\nSubscribe and get the full picture. Stay updated, stay informed, and join a community that values truth and transparency. Subscribe to The Provincial Times for free to receive new stories and support our work!\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nDid you like this article? Consider a small donation.\n\n* * *\n\n_This piece was written by an individual contributor and reflects the editorial position of The Provincial Times._ Read our Content Policy here.",
  "title": "ADAMS: My MPP Works 13 Weeks a Year. I Work 49. Something Has Gone Wrong.",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-03T03:21:46.132Z"
}