Ed Komarnicki still has a few months remaining in his tenure as the Conservative MP for the Souris-Moose Mountain constituency, but he has already had his final day in the House of Commons.
Komarnicki's last day was on June 18. He said the reality associated with his pending retirement sunk in earlier, when he had his final transportation committee meeting.
“The meeting was going forward, and I was asking questions, and then the meeting concluded,” said Komarnicki. “As I was walking down the hall, I realized that would be the last committee meeting I would be attending, and taking part in, and it was kind of surreal.”
The final few days in the House of Commons were eventful. Komarnicki tabled a motion last month that all MPs should be allowed to vote freely on all matters of conscience. The final vote came earlier this month.
While some MPs questioned the motion for being too vague, it still received overwhelming support, as 273 of 274 MPs in the House of Commons that day supported it.
Komarnicki's fellow Tory MP Gordon O'Connor was the only MP to oppose the motion.
“It will pave the way for future Parliaments to give their members the freedom to not only debate but vote on these issues,” said Komarnicki.
Komarnicki noted conscience would be related to religious, moral or ethical issues, such as abortion and assisted suicide.
He also had to prepare his farewell speech.
Komarnicki was elected as the Souris-Moose Mountain MP in June of 2004. He was re-elected in 2006, 2008 and 2011.
While he was never selected as a cabinet minister, Komarnicki served as a critic for labour and housing while he was in opposition from 2004 to 2006, and has been a parliamentary secretary and a committee chair after the Tories formed government in 2006.
He announced in February 2013 he would not seek another term as MP.
Komarnicki will spend the final months of his tenure as MP tackling case work and attending community events – an element of his job he said he enjoyed. He will also offer his support to Estevan chiropractor Dr. Robert Kitchen – the Tory candidate for Souris-Moose Mountain in the upcoming federal election.
He will also spend some time with his family and start to ease his way out of public life.
