Some days I wish I could hang a huge banner from the peace tower on Parliament Hill. It would read:

Help Wanted - Principled and courageous women and men needed to lead the nation: 301 immediate openings, apply within.

The Hepatitis-C vote in late April proved that the Liberal backbenches are populated by a group of toadies. How else can one explain their blind willingness to cast aside compassion and fairness in favour of directives from Chairman Jean and the politburo (aka: the Prime Minister's office)

But collective cowardice and contempt for taxpayers is not merely a Liberal trait. Indeed, it cuts across all party lines as evidenced in a recent behind closed doors decision where MPs voted themselves a raise, doubled their living allowance and protected their tax free perks.

On May 6th the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs held an in camera meeting to review the Blais Commission report on allowances for Members of Parliament.

The Blais Commission reported to Parliament in February and we gave the report mixed reviews. On the positive side, we supported Blais' recommendation to end tax-free perks and set a MPs salary at a fully-taxable and transparent $106,000; exactly what they make now when all perks are factored in. And we really didn't have a problem with doubling the yearly living allowance from $6,000 to $12,000.

However the report failed to scrap the gold-plated MP pension plan and opted instead for a buffet-style approach to reform. If MPs so desire, they would be allowed to opt-out of the current plan and into a fully-funded matching dollar for dollar group RRSP scheme. But there is absolutely no incentive for the multi-million dollar pension lottery winners, namely Liberal cabinet ministers, to opt out of the old plan.

Of course, the Standing Committee didn't touch this issue at their little secretive meeting. And it is also fair to note that the CTF submission to the Blais commission supported an inflationary adjustment to MP salaries. So you may wonder, why are we so upset

Issues of symbolism and process immediately come to mind. Instead of having the courage to hold a public meeting on the issue of compensation, our MPs have continued a 30-year tradition of doing things in secret and by increments. This is how the tax-free expense allowances, the living allowance and other sessional indemnities have evolved.

The symbolism of hiding behind closed doors in shame is not lost on taxpayers. As for process, Canadians have not been given a chance to substantively comment on this issue. The Blais Commission did not conduct public hearings and only offered a 4-week window for comments on its website. And if its current track record is any indicator, the commons committee on Procedure won't be soliciting the views of Canadians in this century.

Is it any wonder that Canadians hold their parliamentarians in such low esteem We need leaders, not trained seals. Perhaps it's time to order the scaffolding so I can scale the peace tower and hang that help wanted banner.