Souris-Moose Mountain's new MP, Ed Komarnicki, is taking a wait-and-see attitude toward Prime Minister Paul Martin's new cabinet, announced on Tuesday.

There are a lot of the same players, like Pierre Pettigrew, Bill Graham, Stephane Dion and Reg Alcock, said the Conservative Party MP.

"To have (Regina MP Ralph) Goodale and (Edmonton MP Anne) McLellan left in position means the cabinet shuffle is not as significant as it might have been, but to have them in those high profile jobs is acceptable to westerners," said Komarnicki on Tuesday.

"It may have an impact on what happens in the west. It's good to see," he said.

"But it's not a major event that a few representatives are from the west. It's to be expected that there would be a number of ministers from the west."

Five of Martin's 38 cabinet members hail from western ridings. Eight members are new.

Goodale remains as Finance minister, while McLellan stays as deputy prime minister and minister of Public Safety and emergency preparedness.

Komarnicki said he's torn about Goodale remaining as Finance minister because of rumours he might have become House Leader, where he would be working directly with the Official Opposition.

The nuts and bolts of working with a minority government will be important for this government, said Komarnicki, who's also planning an issue-by-issue examination of government business before deciding whether to help bring it down and cause another federal election.

The constituents would not want the government to fall except on issues of significance, he said. "My sense is most people wouldn't like a quick election."

Komarnicki describes Hamilton East MP Tony Valeri, who was named to the position of House Leader in Tuesday's cabinet shuffle, as an exciting person. Valeri beat out longtime Liberal cabinet minister Sheila Copps in a tough contest for the Liberal nomination in that riding before being elected to the House of Commons.

"(Valeri's) gone through a significant campaign and come through it. Time will tell how he gets along with the opposition," he said.

Komarnicki also said he is interested in arranging a meeting with Martin's new agriculture minister, Ontario MP Andrew Mitchell, to talk about agriculture issues relevant to the constituents of Souris-Moose Mountain.

Mitchell was born in Montreal and educated in Ontario with a career mostly in the banking industry. But Komarnicki points out that he wrote a document called Think Rural when he was first elected in 1993, and he served as secretary of state for rural development in northern Ontario.

He's had some minor connection with agriculture, said Komarnicki.

"With the state of agriculture as it is, I wonder if someone with more extensive background in agriculture might have been the way to go," said Komarnicki. "I'll wait and see how he approaches agricultural problems and see how much authority will be delegated to him."

Farmers and ranchers in this riding are looking for some innovative ideas and immediate action from this government, given the ongoing crisis in the cattle industry and grain farming, said Komarnicki.

"(Agriculture) is a big portfolio and he has some big shoes to fill," he said. "I hope he's up to the task."

Komarnicki is also interested to see former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh as the new minister of health.

"He will have to deal with the premiers and he's had some experience in that area," he said. "It's a delicate operation and will require some teamwork."

Komarnicki said it's good to see someone from the west have a portfolio like that. "It will be interesting to see if he will be innovative in a way that will ensure the future of the health system."

"My sense is the public is looking at government and saying it needs to do better."

Komarnicki said he expects Conservative Leader Stephen Harper to announce the Opposition shadow cabinet soon.

Parliament will resume sitting on Monday, Oct. 4.

Komarnicki is spending the summer looking after constituency issues and setting up constituency offices. There will also be orientation and some preparation for sitting in the House of Commons, he said.

The federal cabinet is as follows: Prime Minister Paul Martin, Senate Leader Jacob Austin, minister of Transport Jean Lapierre, minister of Finance Ralph Goodale, deputy prime minister Anne McLellan, National Defence minister Bill Graham, minister of Veterans Affairs Albina Guarnieri, Treasury board president Reg Alcock, minister of Fisheries and Oceans Geoff Regan, government House leader Tony Valeri, minister of International Cooperation Aileen Carroll, Justice minister Irwin Cotler, Citizenship and Immigration minister Judy Sgro, Natural Resources minister Ruben John Efford, Canadian Heritage minister Liza Frulla, Human Resources minister Joseph Volpe, Labour minister Joseph Fontana, minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Lucienne Robillard, Environment minister Stephane Dion, Foreign Affairs minister Pierre Pettigrew, Indian Affairs minister Andy Scott, International Trade minister James Peterson, Agriculture minister Andrew Mitchell. Public Works minister Scott Brison, minister of Health Ujjal Dosanjh, Social Development minister Ken Dryden, Industry minister David Emerson, minister of state for Multiculturalism Raymond Chan, minister of state for Human Resources Claudette Bradshaw, National Revenue minister John McCallum, western economic diversification minister Stephen Owen, Atlantic Opportunities Agency minister Joseph McGuire, minister of state Joseph Comuzzi, deputy House leader Mauril Belanger, Public Health minister Carolyn Bennett, minister for the Francophonie Jacques Saada, minister of state for Infrastructure John Godfrey, and minister of state for Families Tony Ianno.