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Not a bad resume, but hardly earth-shaking. He’s still only 49, with plenty of time – and, no doubt, excellent connections – to build a new, prosperous career for his young family.

So, $120,000? A year? For life?

The calculation comes from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, and is somewhat less than the $128,000 a year the CBC reported. Aaron Wudrick of the CTF says the difference relates to how MacKay’s cabinet premium is calculated, and is certain the lower figure is the correct one. Even so, MacKay could collect more than $6 million in total, allowing for inflation, since the average MP lives to age 90.

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Under new regulations, which kick in on Jan. 1, 2016, MPs will have to contribute far more to their own pensions and wait longer to collect it all. So there shouldn’t be any more examples like MacKay to upset those of us among the great unwashed who have to get along on our own savings and lesser pension plans. Still, if people who run for office think they’re smart enough to run the country, why don’t they feel smart enough to save for their retirement like the rest of us?

According to a report from the Fraser Institute, employment in the public sector remains a far cushier situation than private sector workers can expect. Even after nine years of the Harper government supposedly making life miserable for civil servants, public employees across all levels earn almost 10% more, on average, than those in the private sphere.