Canada's unrepentant Members of Parliament recently added diamond studs to their already gold-plated pension plans.

MPs of all political stripes, save for the federal Tories, recently voted to force all members into the lavish public pension plan, willing or not. They also included a provision allowing maverick MPs (aka Reformers) who opted out of the pension plan with much principled fan-fare in 1993 to retroactively buy back in for generous future retirement benefits.

And that's not all! MPs will now be eligible to collect an extra $35,000 severance package should they get turfed in the next election. Politicians in Ottawa have succeeded in reducing the honourable public service position of a Member of Parliament into little more than a humdrum career choice protected by better job security than any other profession.

And it took dogged determination to get these benefits in place, unlike other pressing public policy issues that usually move at a snail's pace. It took seven years for this government to re-index the tax system to inflation. And in the past five years no progress has been made in reducing internal trade barriers.

But on matters of earth-shattering importance like severance payments and pension top-ups, MPs line up their votes without delay. Winnipeg City Council recently exhibited the same steadfast decision-making when it approved a ward allowance hike of $23,000 to a total of $70,000. It's Mardi Gras for Canadian politicians especially when salaries or benefits are to be decided by themselves, and usually willy nilly.

Media reports were quick and not off target to highlight the duplicity of Canadian Alliance members who agreed to fast track a hasty vote, which mustered next to no debate and no public in-put. The once-Reformers staked their political careers on rejecting the pension buffet. The Alliance MPs who now reversed their pension position might find themselves choking on it in the next election.

No one begrudges the MPs for wanting reasonable retirement benefits. But the current MP pension plan is totally out of proportion to anything Canadians can expect from the private sector or even from their beleaguered Canada Pension Plan.

- Excluding salaries, MP pensions and benefits costs Canadian taxpayers $21 million per year. Next to federal judges, the MP pension plan is the most lucrative pension plan in the country.

- For every dollar MPs contribute to their plan, Canadians kick in another $3.72. By comparison, Manitoba MLAs receive a far more responsible matching dollar for dollar split between themselves and the taxpayer.

- MPs can collect their pensions at 55; a full decade earlier than most Canadians can collect their CPP.

- MPs are eligible for a pension benefit equal to 75 per cent of their salary after 18 years of service, compared to the private sector average of 35 years for equivalent pension coverage.

If Liberal MP Lloyd Axworthy were turfed in a fall election, he would draw a cumulative pension of $1.5 million before turning 75. Defender of the poor and downtrodden, Bill Blaikie (NDP) would retire in comfort with $1.4 million. Ron Duhamel (Liberal) would walk away with $1 million. And the list goes on.

Why should politicians give a toss about the future of your CPP benefits when they have nothing at stake Their retirement years will be well endowed. But on the doorsteps of the next election, they will have some explaining to do.