With the public hearings of the 2006 Alberta Judicial Compensation Commission taking place, the issue of how much we should pay our judges is a hot topic.

Many will remember Alberta fought recommended increases for judges stemming from the last Compensation Commission in 2003, and -- shockingly -- lost in court.

In fact, they were also denied a stay on the new wages in 2004, and the issue is still before the Court of Appeal. But since the Court of Appeal decision will be made by, well ... a judge, don't hold your breath.

While the flames of judicial compensation might have been recently fanned, the fun game of trying to decide how much to pay a provincial judge has been going on for years. In fact, it came to a head in 1994 when the Alberta government attempted to roll-back judges' wages by 5% to match a wage cut accepted by MLAs and other public servants.

The judges fought this -- not surprisingly -- in the courts (it's always good to have home court advantage), and it eventually ended up before the Supreme Court .

In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled each province had to appoint a Judicial Compensation Commission every three years to eliminate the constant court battles.

The 1998 Judicial Compensation Commission in Alberta ruled judges should be paid $142,000, up from the $113,964 they earned in 1997. The Alberta government "accepted" the report with some "modifications."

Namely, that judges be paid $125,000 instead.

The judges and Alberta government went to court again over the matter and it's not hard to guess how this one ended. The 2000 Judicial Compensation Commission upped the salaries to $170,000, and the 2003 commission upped the salaries to $220,000.

Alberta provincial court judges are tied with Ontario for the distinction of highest paid in the country. Since 1997, Alberta judges received a 93% pay hike.

Considering the 1998 commission recommended a 25% increase, the 2000 commission gave them a 20% increase, and the 2003 commission gave a 29% hike, it's tough to blame taxpayers for being nervous.

Ironically, whether generosity, guilt, or Stanley Cup fever, the Alberta Provincial Judges' Association recommended the 2006 commission freeze their wages at $220,000 for three years! Interestingly, the Alberta government also suggested a wage freeze in their submission to the commission.

Ultimately, it is up to the commission to make the decision. Normally, when labour (judges) and management (Alberta) agree on a wage settlement, arbitration should be easy.

Yet there's still reason for taxpayers to be nervous. Looking ahead, will the 2009 Judicial Compensation Commission look back and recall our years of frozen wages was in response to a 93% increase in the previous nine years, or will it decide judges must "catch-up"?

Place your bets on the latter.

That is precisely why judicial wages should not be frozen. That's right, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is advocating judicial wages, in fact, be increased.

If judicial wages were linked to the annual change in Average Weekly Earnings of Albertans, as calculated by Statistics Canada, there'd be no need for the commission. No need for the commission to recommend outrageous increases in 2009 and no need for our Alberta government to spend thousands our tax dollars fighting judges in court, in a battle they always lose.

Currently, MLAs and the city councils of both Edmonton and Calgary annually adjust their wages by the change the Average Weekly Earnings of Albertans to avoid these so-called "catch-up adjustments"

It's fair, it's transparent, and if it's good enough for our politicians, it should be good enough for our judges.

As a bonus, it will likely end up costing taxpayers less.