Dick Harris - 41st Parliament

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. 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. Harris won the riding with 56% of the vote and his Conservative Party formed a majority government. 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

His private member's bill was introduced in October 2011 and passed by the House of Commons in May 2012. As of October 2012, the bill was being studied by the Senate.

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.