OTTAWA – In the coming days Canadians will be opening their holiday credit card bills but with parliament prorogued until March 3, legislation that would have protected these consumers from high interest rates or excessive fees has been put on hold.

“In less than two weeks from now, the consultation period for the Finance Minister’s Voluntary code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card industry will be over but thanks to the Conservative prorogation, nothing will be done about it in Ottawa,” said New Democrat Consumer Protection Critic Glenn Thibeault (Sudbury). “The Prime Minister shut the doors to the House of Commons and now consumers are being left out in the cold.”

Meanwhile, VISA and MasterCard are readying themselves to enter Canada’s $168 billion debit market ? a market that currently has no regulations in place to protect consumers and small businesses from being gouge.

A New Democrat motion to protect consumers from the abusive practices of credit card companies passed in the House of Commons nine months ago. The House of Commons Industry and Finance committees conducted a thorough study of the credit and debit market last spring. With parliament prorogued until March 3 ? it’s unclear when this issue and other important issues like consumer safety, climate change and pension reform will be dealt with.

“The Prime Minister hit the snooze button after the holiday and decided that he didn’t feel like showing up to work,” said Thibeault. “Unfortunately Canadians can’t prorogue their credit card bills.”