funeral. On 5 June 2013, Rathgeber announced that he had resigned from the Conservative Caucus due to what he believed to be the "Government's lack of commitment to transparency and open government." In November 2014, Brent was awarded the honour of "Member of Parliament who best represents his constituents" by Maclean's magazine. This award is voted on by all Members of Parliament and recognizes his ability to represent constituents more effectively when freed from party positions and discipline. In the 2015 federal election, he ran as an independent in St. Albert—Edmonton, a reconfigured version of his old riding. He finished third, with 19.7 percent of the vote, behind Conservative candidate, Michael Cooper. Post-parliamentary career Rathgeber currently writes a column for iPolitics. Bibliography Irresponsible Government: The Decline of Parliamentary Democracy in Canada (September 2014) Dundurn Press The book contrasts the current state of Canadian democracy to the founding principles of responsible government established by the Fathers of Confederation in 1867. It examines the consequences of the inability or disincentive of modern elected representatives to perform their constitutionally mandated duty to hold the Prime Minister and his cabinet to account and the resultant disregard with which the executive now views Parliament. A chapter is devoted to Withholding the power: Canada's broken Access to Information laws. Electoral record Provincial elections References External links Official Website iPolitics.ca Website 1964 births Living people Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons People from Melville, Saskatchewan Politicians from Edmonton University of Saskatchewan alumni Canadian political writers Writers from Edmonton Writers from Saskatchewan 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers Independent candidates in the 2015 Canadian federal election University of Saskatchewan College of Law alumni