With a second day of action going ahead today to protest the omnibus budget bill, local Conservative MPs are standing behind their party's legislation.
"[Budget bill] C-38 is all about the current phase of our economic plan. It's all about creating and keeping jobs going in Canada and continuing to strengthen the economy," said Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris. "The government has to operate in a certain way to do that and we have outline all of the areas in Bill C-38 that we need to make some changes in order that we can fulfill our mandate."
Harris, along with fellow Conservative Prince George-Peace River MP Bob Zimmer, is facing marathon sessions in the House of Commons as debate continues on more than 800 amendments to the more-than-420 page budget bill.
"An omnibus bill is not a new thing," said Harris, who has sat in Parliament for more than 20 years. He said the official Opposition is determined to vote down the budget, regardless of what's in it, hence all of the amendments which will take hours of debate to sort through.
"We'll deal with all of the amendments the opposition party has and at the end of the day, we'll pass this bill. And in the bill, I'm very comfortable with all of the areas that we've address in Bill C-38 and I'm prepared to support it 100 per cent."
"I don't agree with alternate proposals when it comes to the economy," said Zimmer, noting that while Canada is doing well, the world's financial situation is still delicate, requiring the country to manage its resources appropriately. "We still have a deficit that we have to get rid of and work on our debt."
The natural resources component of the budget is a stand out for Zimmer.
"For Prince George and northeastern B.C., natural resources is just what we do," he said, pointing to a plan to streamline the review process for projects. The budget amends the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act to set review timelines.
"I've seen this on the ground in the region. Review processes can be up to 10 to 15 years with no end in sight," said Zimmer. An unlimited scope to this process can be a deterrent to businesses looking to invest.
"There's expectations of government, so once companies have a plan, they produce it and it's our responsibility as government to review it in a certain amount of time and get back to them in an expedited way," he said. "Expedited doesn't mean there's any lack of stringency."
Bill C-38 contains not only the year's financial plans, but also changes to environmental legislation, raises the age of eligibility for Old Age Security and changes rules about political practices for charities.
At 5:30 p.m. residents are invited to take part in rallies in front of the offices of Zimmer (101-1584 Seventh Ave.) and Harris (206-575 Quebec St.) to call for 13 Conservative MPs to stand out from their party and stop the budget from passing.
Based on later-retracted comments from Conservative backbencher David Wilks, if 13 Conservatives stood up to vote against the bill, it wouldn't pass.
Advocacy group Leadnow.ca is behind this afternoon's event, like the previous protest on June 2 which drew more than 3,000 participants 100 locations nationally.
These rallies are just another element of politics, Harris said.
"The opposition parties are trying will and will continue to organize public rallies using people that support their side and people that would join them in a 'No' vote in every part of the budget," he said, adding the governing party could do the same. "But those folks are all busy working and earning a living and raising their families and trying to make their lives as good as they can."
Zimmer said he appreciates the differing opinions, and that's why there are different political affiliations. "I think the groups that were out were representative of the other parties and that's fine. They have a right to do that. I' more than happy to see that happening and actually I'm glad they have to freedom to do that in our country."
