In 2016, Rathgeber returned to the business world as a political consultant. He joined Cody Law Office in St. Albert, providing a full range of legal services, advocacy and consulting.
Early life
Rathgeber was born in Melville, Saskatchewan. After graduating from Melville Comprehensive School in 1982, He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Saskatchewan.
Rathgeber stood as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for the federal electoral district of Edmonton—St. Albert in the 2008 election[4] and was elected with 61.6 per cent of the vote.[5] He was re-elected in the 2011 federal election.[6][7]
Regarding supply management, Rathgeber said "One can occasionally be critical of the Government without being disloyal. I proudly serve in the Conservative (Government) Caucus but do not leave the viewpoints of my constituents behind every time I board a plane to Ottawa. It is natural for me to question Supply Management, since I represent 140,000 consumers but not a single dairy farmer. Similarly, all of my adult constituents are taxpayers but only a tiny fraction work for the federal government; as a result, I believe it is appropriate that I question public pensions (including my own) and demand respect for taxpayer dollars generally."[8]
Rathgeber has voiced his support for motion 312, which says Canada should re-examine when human life begins.[9]
Rathgeber blogged in 2012 that voters complained to him about the limousine expenses of Tory cabinet ministers when he travelled to Saskatchewan for a funeral.[10]
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."[10][11]
In November 2014, Rathgeber was awarded the honour of "Member of Parliament who best represents his constituents" by Maclean's magazine. This award was voted on by all Members of Parliament and recognized 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.[12][13] He finished third, with 19.7 percent of the vote, behind Conservative candidate, Michael Cooper.[14][15]
Irresponsible Government: The Decline of Parliamentary Democracy in Canada (September 2014) Dundurn Press[17][18]
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.
