Dick Harris

Last updated

Thou shalt not criticize the party. Thou shalt not criticize the national executive, or the president of the national executive, or any of your colleagues in caucus, or any of the caucus officers. Those are the rules. In public, that's the measure. If people stay within those rules, then they are going to be playing golf with the whip instead of having to sit down and explain themselves.

Dick Harris, as the party whip, to the Canadian Alliance caucus, April 2001 [19]

In the November 2000 election Harris, as a member of the Canadian Alliance, was again re-elected in the Prince George–Bulkley Valley riding, this time with 59% of the vote. The Canadian Alliance again formed the Official Opposition to the Liberal Party's majority government. In the first session of the 37th Parliament, Harris served as a vice-chair of the 'Standing Committee on Finance', and a member of the 'Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs', the 'Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages', and the 'Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations'. Fellow Canadian Alliance were criticizing the performance of their leader, Stockwell Day, during the election. In response, Day shuffled the responsibilities of his MPs in April 2001, demoting Opposition House Leader Chuck Strahl and promoting Harris to Chief Opposition Whip. Day and Harris took aggressive stances by forbidding public criticism. [19] Art Hanger immediately spoke out against them to the media and was subsequently removed from caucus. On May 16, several Day loyalist, including Harris, co-signed a letter directed at the remaining caucus members acknowledging rumours of a parallel caucus being formed but that could not be "tolerated". The letter re-stated the formal responsibilities that all Canadian Alliance MPs agreed to and that "members will be breaching their formal written word, given to the leader, the party and their constituency, as a condition of their nomination" if they were found to "publicly attack any other colleague, the leader or the party". [20] Hanger was followed by Chuck Strahl, Gary Lunn, Jim Pankiw, Val Meredith, Grant McNally, Jay Hill and Jim Gouk who all publicly criticized Day and withdrew or were removed from the Canadian Alliance caucus. Five more members left in June and July, including Deborah Grey. Grey accused Harris of seizing her computer and reviewing her files without her knowledge. Speaker of the House Peter Milliken investigated and ruled that Grey's "rights had been violated". [21] In September, the dissident Canadian Alliance members formed a parallel caucus called the Democratic Representative Caucus and Day eventually conceded to a formal leadership review. Harris resigned as whip in January 2002 in order to campaign for Day's re-election as party leader. [22] Stephen Harper won the leadership contest in April 2002 with 55% of the party votes. Under Harper, Harris remained the assistant critic on finance and he served on the 'Standing Committee on Finance' which he was a vice-chair in the 2nd session and a member in the 3rd session. Harper led the merger of the Canadian Alliance with Progressive Conservative Party to form the Conservative Party of Canada which Harris joined.

38th Parliament

In preparation for the 2004 election Harris was challenged by Williams Lake dentist Elmer Thiessen for the Conservative Party nomination. On the evening of the vote, the nomination committee headed by Dan McLaren, who supported neither Harris nor Thiessen, apparently violated Election Canada rules by unilaterally extending the vote count beyond the legal period in order to receive late mail-in ballots. Harris was in the lead before the extension decision was made. After protests, based on Elections Canada rules that all ballots must be in by the time of counting, the party ordered a second ballot take place due to voting irregularities and that constituency association officials purposely restricted voting to Williams Lake only. [23] [24] Harris won on the second ballot by 16 votes. The RCMP launched an investigation into Harris for alleged financial irregularities. The investigation concluded that there was no valid evidence pointing to financial irregularities. Harris went on to win the election in the Cariboo—Prince George riding with 46% of the vote and his party again formed the Official Opposition to the Liberal Party. In the 38th Parliament, Harris, as a member of the opposition, introduced one bill into the House of Commons: Bill C-275 An Act to amend the Criminal Code (failure to stop at scene of accident). Bill C-275 received first reading on November 15, 2004. [25] In his sponsor's speech Harris said,

[The bill] would ensure that perpetrators of such violent and criminal acts are held responsible and accountable for their actions. The bill is long overdue. It would eliminate plea bargaining for hit and run offences, which is sorely needed. It would provide a minimum sentence of seven years in prison for those convicted of hit and run causing death, which is sorely needed. It would provide a minimum of four years in prison for those convicted of hit and run causing bodily harm, which again is sorely needed. To date, perpetrators of hit and run offences causing bodily harm or death have almost never received more than two years for this violent crime. The tragedy of our justice system is that it has become so sick that people who commit violent crimes are simply not dealt with in a manner that is acceptable to our society. Whenever we read something like this in the paper where the convicted person was let off with a slap on the wrist for a violent crime they committed, I, like Canadians all across this country, just roll our eyes and ask where the justice is. What is wrong with our justice system that this could be allowed to happen over and over again? Bill C-275, Carley's law, would bring sentences for hit and run offences in line with sentencing guidelines for other violent crimes, namely manslaughter and attempted murder, because it is as serious a crime as manslaughter or attempted murder.

Mr. Richard Harris (Cariboo—Prince George, CPC), March 8, 2005 [26]

The Minister of Justice did not support bill based on its lack of distinction between intentionally and unintentionally not stopping at the scene of accident and its dis-proportionality to other crimes, so the bill was voted down, 194 to 94, on June 22, 2005. [26] [27] Meanwhile, his constituency association (most of whom had supported Harris' nomination challenger, Elmer Thiessen) formed a committee, once again headed by Dan McLaren, to investigate the financial irregularities charges, eventually finding charges to be valid. [4] The constituency association held an election in February 2005 for their board of directors. The new board withdrew the previous board's findings against Harris. [28] A month later, the RCMP dropped its investigation due to "insufficient information". [29] A new constituency office was opened in Williams Lake in September 2004 [30] and an office in Quesnel in November 2005. [31]

39th Parliament

There were no challenges to Harris for the Conservative Party nomination for the January 2006 election. He went on to win the Cariboo—Prince George riding with 50% of the vote and this time Harris' party won and formed the government. In the 39th Parliament, he served as a member of the 'Standing Committee on Natural Resources' for both sessions and as a member on the 'Legislative Committee on Bill C-2' (Tackling Violent Crime Act) during the second session. Harper appointed Harris to be the chair of the British Columbia Conservative Caucus and the party's national forestry caucus.

Harris generated controversy in August 2007 when, as chair of the BC Conservative Caucus, he appointed Houston mayor Sharon Smith as the "government go-to person" in neighbouring electoral district Skeena—Bulkley Valley. [32] He told residents, through the media, to approach Smith rather than elected local MP Nathan Cullen, a member of an opposition party, for help with government services or lobbying for federal funding. Conservative Party spokesman Ryan Sparrow said this was not sanctioned by the party and that local residents should use their elected member of parliament. [32] Another controversy arose when it was discovered that the Conservative Party used an "in-and-out" plan to have regional offices pay for national advertising during an election period. Opposition parties contended that the Conservatives did this to avoid campaign financing limits and attain reimbursement for the costs through Election Canada. Harris' campaign was one of many who participated (with $30,000 - 36% of his total campaign expenses for advertising), though Harris and the party maintain that they kept within the law. [33] [34]

40th Parliament

In the October 2008 election Harris was re-elected in the Cariboo—Prince George riding with 55% of the vote and his party again formed a minority government. During the campaign he received criticism for being "invisible" and living a semi-retired life in Kelowna some 600 km from his constituency. Harris maintained an apartment in Prince George on Range Road during this period. He does not own property in Kelowna. However, he responded to specific residency questions by suggesting that his long-term residence (over 50 years in the area) in Prince George qualifies him to represent the region. [35] In the 40th Parliament, he served as a member of the 'Standing Committee on International Trade' in the 2nd session and on the 'Standing Committee on Natural Resources' during the 3rd session. He retained his chairmanship of the Conservative's national forestry caucus and the BC Caucus. Government opposition members and local critics, called Harris to task for failing to read the Canada/US Softwood Lumber Agreement, however, letters to newspapers from the major forestry companies in his province supported him for the work he did on their behalf during the Softwood Lumber negotiations.

41st Parliament

As the incumbent seeking re-election, there were no nomination challenges and Harris was automatically acclaimed as the Conservative Party candidate in Cariboo—Prince George riding. [36] In the May 2011 election he faced UNBC student Jon Van Barneveld for the NDP, rancher Heidi Redl for the Green Party, UBC student Sangeeta Lalli for the Liberal Party, pilot Henry Thiessen for the Christian Heritage Party, UNBC student Jordan Turner for the Rhinoceros Party, and independent Jon Ronan. While Jon Van Barneveld was likely Harris' greatest opponent since his first election, Harris won the riding with 56% of the vote and his Conservative Party formed a majority government. During the 2011 election, Harris came under fire by Van Barneveld and the media based on his vote on a national wood-first policy in the previous parliament

"Dick Harris voted against our interests and voted against the wood first policy, Bill C-429 not once, not twice, but three times in 2010," said Van Barneveld." [37]

As the 41st Parliament began, Harris was assigned to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and then moved to the Standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs. In the first session Harris introduced a Private Member's Bill (C-316) An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (incarceration) which will make time spent in jail ineligible as wait times in qualifying for employment insurance.

Thus, quite simply, the bill would change the EI Act so that those who serving time for crime no longer would be able to receive preferential treatment over hard-working Canadians, who deserve and need this kind of help. This bill is all about fairness for hard-working Canadians

Mr. Richard Harris (Cariboo—Prince George, CPC), October 3, 2011 [38]

His private member's bill was introduced in October 2011 and passed by the House of Commons in May 2012 and was subsequently approved by the Senate and given royal assent. [39]

Harris said that the significant safety enhancements to the proposed Enbridge Gateway pipeline project, go far beyond industry standards, and will ensure that "next generation" safety provisions, and structural integrity, will be present throughout the entire line. [40]

He did not run for re-election in 2015.

Related Research Articles

The Conservative Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Tories or simply the Conservatives, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance, the latter being the successor of the Western Canadian–based Reform Party. The party sits at the centre-right to the right of the Canadian political spectrum, with their federal rival, the centre-left Liberal Party of Canada, positioned to their left. The Conservatives are defined as a "big tent" party, practising "brokerage politics" and welcoming a broad variety of members, including "Red Tories" and "Blue Tories".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Ablonczy</span> Canadian politician (born 1949)

Diane Ablonczy is a former Canadian Member of Parliament who served in the House of Commons of Canada. Ablonczy represented Calgary ridings from 1993 to 2015, sitting first with the Reform Party of Canada, then with the Canadian Alliance, and finally with the Conservative Party of Canada. She served as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from January 4, 2011 to July 15, 2013. She was previously appointed Minister of State (Seniors) on January 19, 2010. She held the position of Minister of State from October 30, 2008, Secretary of State from August 14, 2007, and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance from February 2006. Previously, Ablonczy served as Chief Opposition Critic for Citizenship and Immigration, Health, and Human Resources Development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Grey</span> Canadian politician (born 1952)

Deborah Cleland Grey, is a retired Canadian member of Parliament from Alberta for the Reform Party of Canada, the Canadian Alliance, and the Conservative Party of Canada. She was the first female federal leader of the Opposition in Canadian history. She currently serves on the advisory board of the Leaders' Debates Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Representative Caucus</span> Political party in Canada

The Democratic Representative Caucus, also called the Democratic Representative Association, was a parliamentary group in the 37th Canadian Parliament consisting of Members of Parliament who left the Canadian Alliance in 2001 in protest against the leadership of Stockwell Day.

The Unite the Right movement was a Canadian political movement which existed from around the mid-1990s to 2003. The movement came into being when it became clear that neither of Canada's two main right-of-centre political parties, the Reform Party of Canada/Canadian Alliance (CA) and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC), was independently capable of defeating the governing Liberal Party. The objective of the movement, therefore, was to merge the two parties into a single party. The goal of uniting the right was accomplished in December 2003 with the formation of the Conservative Party of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election</span>

The 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election took place on March 20, 2004, in Toronto, Ontario, and resulted in the election of Stephen Harper as the first leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada. The Conservative Party was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, in December 2003.

David Cameron Chatters was a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006, representing the riding of Athabasca until the 2004 election, after which he represented Westlock—St. Paul.

Arthur Hanger is a Canadian politician.

Donald H. Bell is a Canadian politician. He is currently serving as a councillor for the City of North Vancouver. He previously represented the riding of North Vancouver as Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2008 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Before being elected, he was the mayor of the District of North Vancouver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Cullen</span> Canadian politician

Nathan Paul Cullen is a Canadian politician. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), he is the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Stikine in British Columbia. He has served in the Executive Council of British Columbia since 2020, currently as Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship and Minister Responsible for Fisheries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Reid (politician)</span> Canadian politician

Scott Jeffrey Reid is a Canadian politician. He has served in the House of Commons of Canada since 2000, and currently represents the Ontario riding of Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston as a member of the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Carrie</span> Canadian politician (born 1962)

Colin Carrie is a Canadian politician. He is a current member of the House of Commons of Canada, representing the riding of Oshawa in the province of Ontario for the Conservative Party of Canada.

Darrel Stinson is a retired politician and businessman in British Columbia, Canada. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Okanagan—Shuswap from 1993 until the dissolution of the House of Commons of Canada for the 2006 federal election, and was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada parliamentary caucus.

Gurmant Singh Grewal is an Indo-Canadian politician and former Conservative Member of Parliament. Gurmant and his wife, Nina Grewal, who represented Fleetwood—Port Kells from 2004 to 2015, were the first married couple to serve in the House of Commons of Canada at the same time. First elected to the Canadian House of Commons on June 2, 1997 for the riding of Surrey Central and re-elected there on November 27, 2000, he represented the riding of Newton—North Delta from 2004 until 2005. Grewal announced that he would not be running in the 2006 federal election over a dispute of alleged offer of patronage with the Liberal Party, which was governing at that time.

Blaine F. Calkins is a Conservative member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada. He has represented the riding of Red Deer—Lacombe in Alberta since 2015, having previously represented its predecessor, Wetaskiwin, since 2006.

Werner George Schmidt was a Canadian politician, teacher, and school principal.

Andy Burton is a Canadian politician. Burton immigrated with his family to Canada from England in 1952 at the age of 10. He grew up in Prince George, British Columbia. In the early 1960s, he worked as a highway surveyor and then as a bulk plant manager for Shell Petroleum. He began his small business in 1964, and operated it until he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2000 federal election as the Canadian Alliance Member of Parliament (MP) for Skeena riding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">40th Canadian Parliament</span> 2008–2011 term of the Canadian federal legislative body

The 40th Canadian Parliament was in session from November 18, 2008 to March 26, 2011. It was the last Parliament of the longest-running minority government in Canadian history that began with the previous Parliament. The membership of its House of Commons was determined by the results of the 2008 federal election held on October 14, 2008. Its first session was then prorogued by the Governor General on December 4, 2008, at the request of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was facing a likely no-confidence motion and a coalition agreement between the Liberal party and the New Democratic Party with the support of the Bloc Québécois. Of the 308 MPs elected at the October 14, 2008 general election, 64 were new to Parliament and three sat in Parliaments previous to the 39th: John Duncan, Jack Harris and Roger Pomerleau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candice Bergen (politician)</span> Canadian politician (born 1964)

Candice Marie Bergen is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Portage—Lisgar in Manitoba from 2008 to 2023. She served as the interim leader of the Conservative Party and the leader of the Opposition from February 2, 2022 to September 10, 2022.

This article covers the history of the Conservative Party of Canada.

References

  1. "House Of Commons Cost: Annual Report To Canadians Details Spending". 9 December 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 "B.C.'s Harris tells Canada: Just watch me". The Vancouver Sun . 13 January 2000. p. 1.
  3. Kieran, Brian (30 September 1993). "Reform-seduced northerners jilt the NDP". The Province . Vancouver. p. 6.
  4. 1 2 O'Neil, Peter (29 January 2005). "MP won't discuss allegations of financial irregularities". The Vancouver Sun. p. A4.
  5. Austin, Ian; John Bermingham; Stuart Hunter (22 October 1993). "Tories, NDP Sinking in Battle for B.C.". The Province . Vancouver. p. 50.
  6. Crockatt, Joan (22 July 1994). "It could be too late to reform Reform". The Ottawa Citizen . p. 3.
  7. O'Neil, Peter (19 August 1994). "Native land claim talks worry Reformers". The Vancouver Sun. p. 4.
  8. O'Neil, Peter (20 December 1994). "Controversial justice critic demoted in Reform shuffle". The Vancouver Sun . p. 5.
  9. Bell, Stewart (14 August 1995). "Manning's move riles his posse". Calgary Herald . p. 1.
  10. O'Neil, Peter (24 April 1999). "B.C. Reform MP joins opposition to UA plan". The Vancouver Sun. p. A15.
  11. O'Neil, Peter (11 June 1999). "Most B.C. Reform MPs back UA". The Vancouver Sun. p. A15.
  12. Naumetz, Tim (2 June 1999). "Reform's principles come first, MPs say". Calgary Herald. p. A3.
  13. Ovenden, Norm (24 April 1999). "Reform MPs battle UA proposal". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A5.
  14. O'Neil, Peter (29 July 1999). "Anti-UA Reformers get roles on action panels: The committees will determine the feasibility of replacing Reform with a new right-wing party". The Vancouver Sun. p. A5.
  15. Greenaway, Norma (12 January 2000). "Rival to seek Manning's job as Reform upheaval intensifies". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A4.
  16. O'Neil, Peter (20 August 1999). "UA blamed for giving boost to Clark: Dick Harris, a Reform MP from B.C., says the push for an anti-Liberal alliance has given new life to the Tory leader and his 'elitist politics'". The Vancouver Sun. p. A13.
  17. Walker, William (24 January 2000). "Reform's party pooper". Toronto Star. p. 1.
  18. Baxter, James (30 January 2000). "Hardliners ready to fight: Reform's old guard serves notice it won't go quietly into fledgling Alliance". Times-Colonist. Victoria, BC. p. A4.
  19. 1 2 Alberts, Sheldon; Ian Jack (30 April 2001). "Back me or get out, Day tells MPs: Caucus put on notice". National Post. p. A1.
  20. Harris, Dick; John Reynolds; Grant Hill; Randy White (16 May 2001). "Alliance Split". Calgary Herald. p. A17.
  21. Ovenden, Norm; Ian Jack (16 October 2001). "Seizure of Grey's files condemned". Edmonton Journal. p. A9.
  22. "Alliance whip resigns". Toronto Star. 14 January 2002. p. A6.
  23. Paulson, Dave (14 April 2004). "Conservatives out for Harris". Prince George Citizen. p. 4.
  24. "MP says police investigation of finances due to disgruntled employee". Prince George Citizen. 17 September 2004.
  25. "C-275 — An Act to amend the Criminal Code (failure to stop at scene of accident)". LEGISinfo. Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 25 August 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  26. 1 2 http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Pub=Hansard&Mode=1&Parl=38&Ses=1&Doc=67#OOB-1163436. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . House of Commons of Canada. 8 March 2005. Retrieved 28 August 2009.{{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  27. Hoekstra, Gordon (25 June 2005). "Hit-and-run bill defeat frustrates MP Harris". Prince George Citizen. p. 1.
  28. "Conservative board flip-flop". The Williams Lake Tribune. 24 February 2005. p. 2.
  29. "Not enough information to pursue charges against MP, police say". Prince George Citizen. 16 March 2005.
  30. Birchwater, Sage (14 September 2004). "Dick Harris opens Williams Lake office". The Williams Lake Tribune. p. A3.
  31. "New office for MP". Prince George Citizen. 23 November 2005. p. 13.
  32. 1 2 Panetta, Alexander (30 August 2007). "Want services? Forget your MP, Tory chair says". The Globe and Mail. p. S3.
  33. Nielsen, Mark (23 April 2008). "Harris, Hill defend election spending". Prince George Citizen. p. 1.
  34. "Elections Canada questions Conservative 'in-and-out' advertising". Ottawa Citizen. 23 August 2007. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  35. "Harris responds to his critics". Omineca Express. 23 April 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  36. "Anders keeps Calgary West nomination". CBC News. 4 May 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  37. "Prince George Free Press - van Barneveld will push wood-first in Ottawa". Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  38. http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=1&DocId=5151205#Int-4335246. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . House of Commons of Canada. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.{{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  39. "Bill C-316 (Historical) | openparliament.ca".
  40. "Harris Says Enbridge's New Safety Provisions Go Beyond Industry Standards". Opinion 250. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
Dick Harris
Member of Parliament
for Prince George–Bulkley Valley
In office
1993–2004