With the provincial election now concluded and the respective campaigns left to reflect and ponder the past 30 or so days, I was reminded of the campaign I was involved with when running for member of Parliament some two years ago.

One of the messages I heard loudly and clearly from a wide variety of citizens was the need to take immediate action on the MP pension plan, which was widely seen as grossly unfair to taxpayers. It was a message I shared in Ottawa as one of the first MPs to publicly call for changes to the MP pension plan that would make it more respectful to taxpayers.

It was rewarding to have the chance to vote in favour of those changes in the last budget implementation bill which will ensure the MP pension plan moves towards equal contributions and also eliminates early retirement provisions. These are changes Canadians expected and asked for and our government delivered on that request. It is for this reason that I am particularly disappointed by some recent events that I know a number of citizens are concerned about as well. In fact, I have heard from an overwhelming number of constituents this past week who are united in sharing their strong opposition to unaccountable senators who engaged in actions that are unbecoming of public officials and that concern is justified, in my view.

Although the Senate has proven difficult to reform, this is not from the lack of desire from a significant portion of the Canadian public nor from the want of trying by this government. It comes largely from particular provinces arguing through the courts, that the constitution requires their consent to make much needed changes. As I have in the past, I will continue to support changes that increase accountability to taxpayers.

Dan Albas is the MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla. He can be reached at [email protected].