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The latest session of Parliament opened this week, and for Cypress Hills-Grasslands MP David Anderson, it's business as usual as the Harper Government prepares this year's Federal Budget.

"Trying to create jobs, create growth and then to try an ensure that there's long-term prosperity for Canadians and Canadian families," Anderson said. "The economy's been pretty strong in Western Canada, but some of the areas in the east we think there's still some work to do to improve that, so we're trying to stay focused on those things that really matter to Canadians and them making a living and being able to keep their money."

Full interview with David Anderson

Some of the legislation Anderson says they have planned for the session include the Fair Rail Freight Service Act, which he believes will be important for residents of the southwest.

"It's come out of a rail service review that's been done over the last three years," he said. "We've now put some legislation in place that will give shippers a better opportunity to negotiate with the railways when they're dealing with freight rates and those kinds of things. It's been apparent that that's been necessary for a while, and we're glad to be bringing that forward."

Anderson also noted acts dealing with RCMP accountability, faster removal of foreign criminals from Canada and First Nations financial transparency.

The first day of Parliament on Monday was marked with a "Global Day of Action" as part of the Idle No More movement that had been protesting Bill C-45, an omnibus bill that inculded changes to the Indian Act, the Navigation Protection Act and the Environmental Assessment Act, but Anderson said he hasn't heard much concern from the riding about the bill or the issues pushed by the movement.

"Certainly, there's been good support for our budget bills, particularly issues on navigable waters," he said. "We've had very strong support for those changes in the riding, and it's something that the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities and others have lobbied for 10 or 15 years. This isn't an issue in our riding, and I think if people read the bill and looked at it, they'd understand there's really not an issue across the rest of Canada either."