The Senate finance committee will delay a vote on the Conservatives' budget so senators can take more time to review its contents, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Wednesday.
Bill C-10, the federal government's budget implementation bill, is currently before the committee, which must review the document before senators can pass it.
On Tuesday, Flaherty appeared before the committee and warned against putting off a vote and denying the Canadian economy of billions in stimulus money.
However, before a Conservative caucus meeting on Wednesday morning, Flaherty told reporters that the finance committee chair has indicated the committee will delay the vote.
"That's what he told me," Flaherty said. "They were going to take more days to look at it and call witnesses. I suggested to him that he calls some unemployed Canadians and see what they have to say to the Liberal senators about delaying their unemployment insurance benefits."
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has said that he will encourage Liberal senators to pass the budget quickly, perhaps by March 26, CTV's Tom Clark reported on Wednesday.
"But Senators are unelected, they're not accountable to anybody, presumably they can do whatever the heck it is that they want to do," Clark told Newsnet. "And I think that's what's got Flaherty up in a knot."
Both Flaherty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper fired shots at the Liberal senators during question period Wednesday.
Harper called the senators "out of touch."
The bill allocates about $40 billion in stimulus funding and has already been passed by the House of Commons. If it is passed by the Senate by the end of the month, the money still won't be dispensed until July.
That is because budget estimates do not get authorized until the end of June, a system the Conservatives would like to change.
"This is archaic," Flaherty said. "No business operates their business in this way, so we need to fix that."
In the meantime, the Tories have set aside $3 billion in funding, separate from the stimulus bill, which can be spent immediately after Parliament gives its approval.
Flaherty said that those funds would go toward provincial and municipal projects - such as bridge and road repairs, as well as deferred maintenance at colleges and universities - that have already been approved and are ready to start.
Also on Wednesday, the Conservatives launched a website, ActionPlan.gc.ca, which the public can use to learn about projects that are being funded by the stimulus bill, as well as issues related to the global financial crisis.
