When a man risks his entire political career on a matter of principle, whether you happen to agree with that principle or not, you can’t help but respect him.
Edmonton-St. Albert member of Parliament Brent Rathgeber, a former lawyer and MLA, must have earned the community’s respect Wednesday night when he resigned from the Conservative caucus. The straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was his own party rewriting his private member’s bill which called for improved transparency about federal records and information.
This really doesn’t come as a surprise to those who’ve worked with Rathgeber recently; an interview with The Gazette showed Rathgeber was deeply concerned about Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government interfering in backbencher’s statements in the House and, more importantly, their private member’s bills.
Rathgeber must have been frustrated by the state of his own private member’s bill, C-461, aimed at making publicly available the salaries of all civil servants in the federal government who are paid over $180,000 per year. The Harper government went into the bill and changed the dollar value upwards to almost $400,000, meaning only a few of the most senior civil servants would ever have their salaries posted.
Opposition MPs spoke in favour of Bill C-461. Frustrated, Rathgeber said, as he watched his own CPC members gut his bill, “Everyone is on my side but my side.”
Confronting his party leader was nothing new to the backbencher. In April 2012 The Gazette reported on Rathgeber’s anger over supply management. In a blog posting, Rathgeber criticized supply management boards, which set quotas on milk, egg and poultry production in all provinces. Rathgeber argued the system was unfair for consumers, because it kept prices artificially high.
Recently, Rathgeber showed the same pluck when he stood up and supported fellow MP Mark Warawa, who’d been gagged by the CPC whip from addressing Parliament. Warawa was expected to speak about opposing abortion used for gender selection; no doubt a controversial subject. Rathgeber recently told The Gazette he wasn’t speaking up about Warawa’s opinions; he was supporting Warawa’s right to speak those opinions in the House of Commons.
Rathgeber should be complimented on remaining true to his roots, standing up for what he believes in and refusing to be part of something in which he has no faith.
