Dick Harris - 35th Parliament

35th Parliament

The next federal election was held in October 1993. The race in the Prince George–Bulkley Valley riding was expected to be close between Harris and the incumbent MP, Brian Gardiner (NDP). However, his party placed third and the Liberal Party of Canada formed a majority government. In both sessions of the 35th Parliament Harris sat on the 'Standing Committee on Government Operations' and the 'Standing Committee on Transport'. In the first session he was also assigned to two subcommittees: the 'Subcommittee on the St. Lawrence Seaway' and the 'Subcommittee on the Consideration of the Objections Filed on the Proposed Electoral Boundaries for the Western Provinces'. In July 1994, Reform Party leader Preston Manning formed a three member critic team for Indian Affairs and Northern Development with Harris, Mike Scott and John Duncan. The team held town hall-style meetings in BC where they opposed independent self-governments but advocated for municipal-style governments on reserves, like the Sechelt Indian Government District, and warned that land claims could be costly and usurp private property rights. The three member team was unable to draw sufficient attention to the Reform Party's position on native affairs, so the team was disbanded in December 1994 and Harris re-assigned to the "Reform Posse", a special team of Reform Party MPs (Harris, Jay Hill and Randy White) meant to investigate government spending, similar to the Liberal Party of Canada Rat Pack. With the assistance of a forensic accountant, the Reform Posse investigated the Department of Indian Affairs but Manning disbanded them in August 1995 and Harris was re-assigned to be the Reform Party's deputy critic of public works. He was subsequently re-assigned to be the assistant critic on Transport in February 1997, a role he filled until the end of the parliamentary session in June.