Now that he's back from Rome, Prime Minster Stephen Harper will be contacting the ethics commissioner to declare a pile of booty he raked in from Italian prime minister and G8 host Silvio Berlusconi at last week's summit.

The haul has already caused a minor firestorm in Italy, at least among the non-Berlusconi-owned media there, but the Italian PM has easily outrun bigger and more sensational scandals than this.

Most of the attention has settled on the made-to-measure Belstaff motorcycle jackets worth about $1,000 that each G8 leader received, complete with breast pocket insignia signed by Berlusconi himself. There are also reports of monogrammed bathrobes and towel sets as well as designer pyjamas.

The Prime Minister's Office will confirm the PM received a weighty and expensive-looking watch (a bit of a waste on Harper since he cannot wear any metal on his body, says press secretary Dmitri Soudas), a pair of cufflinks, apparently with diamond studs, and a large book of photographs of Italy.

The book doesn't sound so extravagant, until you learn the covers are made from Italian marble. In fact, the marble is so heavy that the PM's staff left the book behind for the embassy to crate and ship home rather than risk overloading the prime ministerial Airbus. If it's destined for a 24 Sussex Drive coffee table, care will have to be taken to prevent the book from crushing the thing and putting a hole through the floor.

The prime minister must declare any gifts valued at more than $200, which then become the property of Canada and are stored away in dusty warehouses, says the PMO. Alternatively, if the PM would like to keep any of the gifts he can simply buy them back at market value.

— Keith Boag