From rags to the rideau: politicians share stories of theirlousiest jobs - Ozone Air Purifiers Manu

Hoarding away 13 years of minimum wages, she paidher way through two science degrees, but still struggled to findsuitable work after graduating. Finding none, she swallowed her pride and went back to DQ. "In Cape Breton every job is a good job, so I had no problemwith it," she said. "I knew they were stopgaps and I knewI had no other options." Treasury Board Secretary Tony Clement also began working at a youngage at his father's restaurant, where he said he worked from 10a.m. to 2 a.m.

for $39 per week. But even that didn't compare with the ignominy of being an usher atthe Ontario Film Institute auditorium, Clement said. "I had to shine my flashlight on old ladies crumpling theirlozenges a little too loudly," he said. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who said he began scrubbingfloors at age 12, preferred the calm of janitorial work.

He saidthe stress of being a bus boy and waiter in his teens still giveshim the chills. "Waiter is the toughest job I ever had," he said."You have to keep, like, 10 things in mind at once." Chief Government Whip Gordon O'Connor stocked shoes in a warehouse.Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said he sold encyclopediasdoor-to-door in the B.C. interior. "We needed the money so we did it," Oliver said.

Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid his dues, said hisspokesman Andrew MacDougall. Harper worked in his early 20s inImperial Oil's mailroom in Alberta before moving up the ladder tothe computer department. As prime minister, Harper now pulls in acool $317,000 per year. Not all cabinet ministers have a hardscrabble story. Born into awealthy, landowning political family in Nova Scotia, DefenceMinister Peter MacKay didn't struggle to pay the rent or tuition.

After obtaining his law degree, MacKay went to work for Germanindustrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp, where he learned the Germanhe can now be heard speaking from time to time with visitingdiplomats. On the opposition benches, Liberal MP Justin Trudeau, also borninto wealth, said he was pretty selective about the work did duringhis university years. With a visible shudder, he recalled his briefexperience bartending at the now-defunct Tramway Brasserie inMontreal. "I worked about two double shifts and then I had to leave. Itwas just terrible," he said.

"It paid minimum wage, andwas not a lot of fun." Opting for a more entertaining summer occupation, Trudeau became awhitewater rafting guide. Coming up in a family of 12, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said therewere no handouts in his household. "We were of modest means. That's why we all had to work,"he said.

"I delivered the Montreal Gazette from the time I was12 right through college." Mulcair said his first summer job was toiling in a Montreal textilefactory when he was 14. "It was a real sweatshop," he said. "I was making$1.25 an hour, and our work day was from eight in the morning tosix at night, and we had half an hour for lunch and two 15 minutebreaks." Leader Bob Rae did not share his work history with Postmedia News.The son of a distinguished diplomat, Rae was educated in tonyprivate schools in Canada and abroad. There remains a serious disconnect between the cabinet table andmain street Canada, said Erin Weir, a labour economist with theUnited Steelworkers union. "Many MPs do have trouble understanding the challenges facingmost working Canadians," he said.

"Many of them are quitewealthy and wouldn't have to rely on Employment Insurance, and beforced into poorly paid jobs." While elite corporate jobs and ambassadorial postings may awaitsome defeated politicians, Weir said, most out-of-work Canadianshave a very different experience of the job market. "If any of these ministers lose an election, they wont berelying on EI," he said. Nevertheless, Tory decision makers seem unlikely to back down ontheir mission to overhaul the EI system, and stomp out fraud andother abuses. "There's no free ride, and you have to earn you keep at homeand contribute to the family," said Raitt, known for taking ahard line on strikes and work stoppages.

"Maybe it's a conservative value." As for Flaherty's other dirty jobs he said he has worked as abusboy, construction worker, house painter, carpet cleaner . . .and ran aquatics activities at a girl's summer camp. JeffDavis.Ottawa@gmail.com Twitter.com/JeffDavisOttawa.

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