There's a number of lifelong perks most Canadians don't know about

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With Friday’s cabinet shuffle, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed eight new members of what is effectively a doomed cabinet.

At best, Canada’s newest ministers of the crown will oversee 10 months of tumultuous rule before becoming the public faces of an ignominious electoral defeat. At worst, they’ll get only a few weeks of rule before a snap election yields their inevitable descent into political oblivion.

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As to why anyone would do this, the first and most obvious clue lies in the perks: Any minister, no matter how jinxed their portfolio, is immediately granted a series of benefits that are largely unknown to the average Canadian.

For starters, the new ministers are immediately ascending into a realm of power and prestige that they may never experience again.

Just three years ago, the new minister of seniors, Joanne Thompson, was a registered nurse in Newfoundland and Labrador. Now she has a car and driver, an upgraded office (possibly with an ensuite bathroom) and whole legions of staff to call her “minister.”

There’s also a pay bump, and not just for the few months that a new appointee will be in charge of a ministry. If the new minister is eligible for the famous “gold-plated” Parliamentary pension, that pension amount will be calculated based on the money........

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