Prime Minister Stephen Harper has accused the opposition parties of forcing an unnecessary election by rejecting Tuesday's budget, calling on the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois to reconsider their opposition.
The opposition parties gave no indication they were prepared to listen to the prime minister, with Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff saying his party would move a motion of no confidence on Friday.
NDP Leader Jack Layton said barring any changes, he's prepared to vote against the budget on Friday.
Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen said if Harper would move even a little bit he could avoid an election.
He dismissed Harper's call for the opposition parties to reconsider the budget when the Conservatives have stipulated there will be no changes.
"What an offer?" quipped Cullen, whose riding stretches from the northwest coast to Fort St. James, just east of Prince George.
The budget has been created, in part, to meet demands from the NDP for enhanced social spending. The two parties held meetings prior to the budget, but the NDP, including Northern B.C. representatives, said the budget failed to meet their demands.
All three parties must vote against the budget in order to defeat the minority Conservative government.
If the government falls this week, an election could be held in early May. It would be the fourth election in seven years.
Cariboo-Prince George Conservative MP Dick Harris insisted Wednesday it was never the intention of his party to create a budget targeted to gain the support of the NDP.
Harris said the budget was based on hundreds of consultations that took place across the country, including in Prince George.
"The budget was not aimed at gaining support from the NDP or any other party -- it was reflecting what Canadians told us in months of consultation, and it embraced the principles of our economic action plan," said Harris.
He says the budget is focused on sustaining the recovery from the recession and maintaining and growing jobs in the economy.
The $287.7 billion budget has a projected deficit of $29.6 billion.
UNBC political scientist Jason Morris said it appears, to some extent, the budget had been designed to be inadequate to the demands of the opposition parties.
While the Conservatives have continued to say they do not want an election -- which they argue the public doesn't want either -- Morris said he believes the Conservatives knew their budget would be rejected.
"They wouldn't go into such an important day as a budget without understanding all the implications," he said.
He also noted it may have simply been impossible to satisfy all the opposition demands.
The Liberals were opposed to implementing continued corporate tax cuts, while the Bloc Quebecois was seeking a $2.2 billion package for implementing the harmonized sales tax.
The NDP's wish list has a cost of billions of dollars, including increased senior's support, removing the harmonized sales tax from home heating, reinstating a home eco-retrofit program and training more nurses and doctors.
The Conservatives did reinstate the home retrofit program for another year and provide $300 million in increased support for seniors with a top-up benefit for low-income seniors, but took no action on home heating. The NDP was seeking support for seniors of $700 million.
The Conservative's budget did not add any training spots for nurses and doctors, but added a $9-million loan-forgiveness program for nurses and doctors who practice in rural areas.
IF THERE IS AN ELECTION
- In Cariboo-Prince George, Conservative MP Dick Harris has held the seat since 1993, defeating his opponents by wide margins in recent elections. Only once in the past three decades has the seat been held by a non-conservative party. In 1988, the seat was won by the NDP.
- In Prince George-Peace River there is already a by-election pending as longtime Conservative MP Jay Hill stepped down late last year. The newly-elected Conservative candidate is Bob Zimmer from Fort St. John. The NDP candidate is Lois Boone from Prince George, a former provincial NDP cabinet minister. The Conservatives have held the seat for nearly four decades. The Liberals won the seat in 1968.
