After much thought and consideration, Westlock-St. Paul MP Brian Storseth says he has decided not to run in the upcoming federal election in 2015.
Storseth, who has served as an MP in the area for almost a decade, cited his family, as the reason for his decision.
“My wife and I just had twins. I don’t want to be over 4,000 km away from my family, eight months out of the year anymore. Basically I go back and forth to and from Ottawa every week when we sit in session,” said Storseth, in an interview with the Journal on Thursday.
In order to get to Ottawa, Storseth said he leaves Alberta at 4 a.m. to arrive at 2 p.m., Ottawa time. On Thursday nights when he returns to Alberta, he would leave at 6 p.m. and return at 1 a.m., Alberta time.
“It’s been a great experience, but it’s a lot of miles, it’s really about the distance, more than anything,” he said.
Storseth noted that he still has a lot of energy and will be making arrangements to work somewhere closer to home, in the St. Paul area. He said he’s proud of his work as MP, having accomplished a great deal in the Westlock-St. Paul riding.
“I’m proud we were able to repeal the long gun registry, and reduced all levels of taxation that the Government of Canada takes in. For the average family of four, that meant a reduction of $3,000 in taxes per year,” said Storseth.
“We’ve repealed Section 13 of the Human Rights Act, and passed a Private Member’s Legislation, a section of the act to protect freedom of speech.”
Storseth noted that he is happy to have worked to put $11 million into the community of St. Paul over the last eight years. He also mentioned the support he provided through a number of charity events such as Hockey Night in St. Paul, giving back over $250,000 to the communities in the riding.
With all the issues surrounding the federal government’s temporary foreign worker program (TFWP) well documented in the local area in recent months, Storseth was keen to point out that his decision had nothing to do with the controversial program and maintained that he would continue to fight the feds alongside the local business sector in the hopes of securing the necessary changes to the program.
Storseth will remain MP, fulfilling his mandate, until the next election. He described the remainder of his time as “business as usual,” stating that if anyone had any concerns or issues, to call his office.
“I decided to make the announcement so that my board can search long and hard for my replacement, but I’m going to remain as committed as ever to representing the people of this region for the next twelve months,” said Storseth.
