Last year was hard for many Canadians, and that includes the Conservative party who not only lost the election, but also had to work with the federal government on navigating another harsh year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the reality for the Conservative party is a harsh one, MP for Cypress Hills-Grasslands Jeremy Patzer is still looking forward to a brighter 2022.

"Well I think just how we come out looking at the election it is obviously unfortunate that we didn't win," remarked Patzer. "I think that was definitely kind of one of those moments where it's 'Ok, so how are we going to go forward from this' right? So, we're still building on a few things, but generally speaking, I think we're heading in a good direction."

Throughout the year, the Conservatives worked alongside the Government of Canada and according to Patzer, tried their best to make sure constituents' voices were heard.

"I think there was some good work that we did in holding the government accountable for the way they've been spending taxpayers money and just trying to make sure that we had the best pandemic response plan for Canadians and for businesses as they're going through shutdowns and lockdowns and different things like that and the way we're able to work with the government, but at the same time keep them accountable," said Patzer. "I think that was extremely important to Canadians throughout this time."

The federal government has been caught outright ignoring the fact that some individuals committed fraud with CERB, both inside and outside of the country. Patzer ensured that he and his party endeavored to hold those responsible accountable within the government, as that is taxpayer money being abused.

As for what's in store for the Conservative party going forward, there are some things Patzer and his base can look forward to.

"Being able to finally present my private member's bill," he said. "Just the way the order and the draw works I should be up early in the spring, I would think, to be able to present my bill. I've also been assigned to the International Trade Committee, so I'm looking forward to getting going on that. Our committees haven't had a chance to really get started yet. We had a planning meeting on the last week before the break, so I'm looking forward to getting back so we can get going on our committee and get citing some of the important issues that we have on trade deals or just different things with the United States and with other countries around the world."

With the COVID-19 pandemic eating into the Trudeau-led government's ability to focus on much of anything else for the past two years, people are hoping that there might be an end in sight.

"I'm gonna say I'm cautiously optimistic," offered Patzer. "I think Canadians are showing a tremendous amount of resiliency over the last two years. I'm concerned with the direction that the current government is taking us in Ottawa. I think that you know the spending has been a lot. Taxpayers' dollars went to a lot of things that you know didn't necessarily need to be spent on. As we try to financially come out of all out of this crisis I think Canadians, by and large, have done a good job of taking care of their own health and making good solid health choices for themselves."

Patzer will be back in the nation's capital later this month, with the House of Commons set to resume on January 31.