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Prorogue rally draws small crowd

A local contribution to a national day of protest against the proroguing of parliament drew about two dozen people to the corner of Seventh and Victoria late Saturday morning.

A local contribution to a national day of protest against the proroguing of parliament drew about two dozen people to the corner of Seventh and Victoria late Saturday morning.

Braving the chilly weather about a half-block away from the consituency office for Prince George-Peace River MP Jay Hill, they waved Canadian flags and held up placards and signs.

One of those signs encouraged passing motorists to "honk for parliament" and many responded in kind as well as give the group friendly waves. Another sign compared Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Charles I, Louis XVI and Adolph Hitler.

Alexi Stephens, 20, said Harper violated the spirit of democracy and did it to escape flak from the Aghan detainee controversy.

"It's important that Stephen Harper know that Canadians care about this issue," said Stephens, who's studying environmental studies at the University of Northern British Columbia. "We are not going to just lay down and let our democracy destroyed by Stephen Harper."

Paul Denison, 24, took a similar stand.

"I think he's running away from issues by proroguing," said Denison, also a student at UNBC where he's studying environmental studies and political science.

Most of the participants were younger or middle aged, but the event drew some seniors including Bernie and Marion Nordquist.

"My wife and I are here because of the disrespect our prime minister is showing for our parliament," said Bernie, 70, a retired civil servant who once voted for John Diefenbaker back in the 1960s.

"I've been around for awhile and I have never, in my life, have witnessed a more partisan (administration)," he said. "They are possibly the most mean-spirited of any government we've ever had in my memory."

Mindy Barnett, 40, who described herself as a volunteer and advocate, said parliament needs to be back in session to deal with the struggling economy and to get people back working. Proroguing should occur only with consent of a majority of the House of Commons, she maintained.

"When they prorogue everything gets shelved and they have to start all over again," Barnett said. "There were a whole bunch of bills on the table that now have to go back through the House."

Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris put the blame on the Liberal-dominated Senate for the decision to prorogue.

"Our bills, even though they were passing through the Houses, as soon as they got to the Senate where the Liberals had a majority, they would basically stonewall," he said. "There were a lot of bills in there that were tied up."

That will change by the time MPs return to Ottawa in early March, Harris said, because new appointees will tip the Senate's balance in the Conservatives' favour by then.

Since proroguing, the Conservatives have seen their support slip from about 40 per cent to 31 per cent and into a virtual tie with the Liberals. And 75 per cent of the 832 who have responded to a Citizen online poll said they disagree with Harper's decision.

But Harris said the turnout for the rally was small and maintained most Canadians aren't that concerned. "The only people who care are the NDP and the Liberals and Maude Barlow and her group," he said. "The people of Canada don't care, they're concerned about the economy and jobs and the direction of the country, that's why you get 23 out what's supposed to be a big rally."

Given how hastily organized it was, Jay Sanders said he was please with the number who turned out. Sanders, 24, who makes a living working with maps, took it upon himself to hold a local protest after hearing about the nationwide effort on the radio, relying largely on Facebook to get the message out.

"I think it was just Monday when I realized no one was planning an event in town and I thought Prince George really should be part of this national event," he said.

More than 50 such rallies were held across Canada on Saturday. One in Toronto drew more than 3,000 people.

mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca