[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Grey Fox]

I'm willing to be elected to the Canadian Senate.

[Josephus]

I'm willing to be elected to the Canadian Senate.

'tis a good gig if you can get it.

[Barrister]

I'm willing to be elected to the Canadian Senate.

'tis a good gig if you can get it.

Only nine year terms if elected.

[Malthus]

I'm willing to be elected to the Canadian Senate.

'tis a good gig if you can get it.

Only nine year terms if elected.

A nine year paid vacation? Not so shabby. 

[Josephus]

I'm willing to be elected to the Canadian Senate.

'tis a good gig if you can get it.

Only nine year terms if elected.

A nine year paid vacation? Not so shabby. 

And you get a lifetime pension, do you not?

[Barrister]

I'm willing to be elected to the Canadian Senate.

'tis a good gig if you can get it.

Only nine year terms if elected.

A nine year paid vacation? Not so shabby. 

And you get a lifetime pension, do you not?

I don't know.

[crazy canuck]

I'm willing to be elected to the Canadian Senate.

'tis a good gig if you can get it.

Only nine year terms if elected.

A nine year paid vacation? Not so shabby. 

I would take it if the pension came with it.

[Malthus]

And you get a lifetime pension, do you not?

Dunno ... that would indeed be sweet, though. 

Edit: according to this article, yes.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/article729201.ece

But even if he retires earlier, Mr. Brazeau, like all senators, will be eligible for a monthly pension after only six years in Parliament, earning annual payments worth 3 per cent of his annual salary for every year of service, starting at age 55.

However, it isn't exactly overflowing wealth. After 9 years, you get a pension worth 3 percent of salary per year starting at 55 ... the salary for a senator is allegedly $130,000 or so, which would amount to ... $23,400.

Better than nothing, but hardly enough to live a life of sybaritic ease.

[crazy canuck]

Hmm, I thought the pension was a better deal than that.  In that case I would not take the job.

[Josephus]

Still beats you know...actually working for nine years. If I were to run next year and do this for nine years, I'd be 55. I would then  collect $23K a year on top of what my current pension investments will be worth plus what I would contribute to my private pensions during my senate tenure, I think I'd be OK.

I think i just decided what to do with the rest of my life. Now I need McGuinty to play along.

[Grey Fox]

Considering my current income, I'd take that pension.


Also, I wouldn't quit after 9 years, you can't make me.

[crazy canuck]

Free money is hard to pass up.  But if you can only be there 9 years and the pension isnt great you have to weigh that against the earning potential you are giving up not just during those 9 years but also the years following that.  The Canadian Senate doesnt exactly lend itself to immediate job prospects after the term is over.

I suppose if one was very energetic you might make a name for yourself during your nine year stint so that your experience might open some doors but that seems a pretty poor substitute for simply being that energetic in the private sphere which would result in more money and more opportunites at the end of the same 9 year period.

This is really a post for people that are ready to retire.  Like Jos.

[Malthus]

Free money is hard to pass up.  But if you can only be there 9 years and the pension isnt great you have to weigh that against the earning potential you are giving up not just during those 9 years but also the years following that.  The Canadian Senate doesnt exactly lend itself to immediate job prospects after the term is over.

I suppose if one was very energetic you might make a name for yourself during your nine year stint so that your experience might open some doors but that seems a pretty poor substitute for simply being that energetic in the private sphere which would result in more money and more opportunites at the end of the same 9 year period.

This is really a post for people that are ready to retire.  Like Jos.

I agree - for anyone in a law-related field, the money is clearly not worth it, if the figures in the article are at all accurate. "I was a senator!" isn't the sort of thing that opens lots of doors in private practice I would imagine - it simply lacks the cachet of being a senior civil servant, judge or MP, as the Canadian Senate is being widely considered a small-time plum position for political hacks being put out to pasture. 

[Josephus]

Yeah, exactly. If I was GF's age, it wouldn't make much sense....but if it was offered to me now. For sure. 9 years of holiday + early retirement. I'm in.

[Josephus]

This is really a post for people that are ready to retire.  Like Jos.

God, you make me sound old. In real life I won't be retiring for at least 20 more years!