By Patrick Burles - (@PatrickBurles on Twitter)

Lethbridge MP recaps 2016 and discusses goals for new year

Dec 30, 2016 | 4:49 AM

LETHBRIDGE – A full year as the official opposition in Canada has Lethbridge Conservative MP Rachael Harder looking forward to the future and building up momentum for the next federal election in 2019.

In a year-end interview with Lethbridge News Now, Harder called 2016 a successful year for the party, adding that she learned a lot from her constituents.

“I think one of the things that really stood out for me was just how effective we are as official opposition,” Harder explained. “My colleagues and I, I think we worked really hard and we were unified, and so we had a lot of fun working together as a team and making sure that we held the Liberals accountable with regards to the decisions that they were making and wanting to be advocates on behalf of everyday Canadians.

“I really put a lot of focus on the constituency and really wanting to reach out to people in the community, making sure that I held town hall meetings or round tables, going to events in the community, I hosted a pancake breakfast in my office this summer,” Harder continued. “Having those opportunities to rub shoulders and engage in face-to-face conversations with people here in the Lethbridge riding was really important to me so that I would be able to be a strong voice for them in Ottawa.”

When asked about concerns for the past year, Harder was quick to go after the governing Liberals and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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“I think as a member of Parliament, it certainly has been really concerning for me to watch the Liberals and the way that they have handled themselves in terms of fulfilling electoral promises, in terms of their ethical standards, it’s mind boggling to me, how can you make so many electoral promises and then not follow through on them. I think one of those would be job creation. They promised to come in and provide jobs and they just haven’t, in fact, Canada is down 30,000 full time jobs since the Liberals took government, that’s a problem and it’s especially a problem here in the province of Alberta.

“Here in Alberta, Trudeau is just simply turning an absolutely blind eye or a deaf ear to us,” Harder stated. “It’s as if we don’t even exist in the country of Canada, which just isn’t fair to us in Alberta.”

As for the future, Harder discussed a matter she personally intends to focus on after visiting northern Iraq on a four-day fact-finding mission as part of a One Free World International delegation last summer. Following the mission, she stated that she wanted to become a voice for the voiceless.

“With regards to refugees that have been brought over to Canada, I think someone’s got to stand up for them, because this government sure isn’t. Unfortunately, we’re coming up to month 13 for many of the Syrian refugees and they are without jobs and they are in a very precarious and difficult spot, where they are going to find it very difficult or have found it very difficult to find meaningful employment.”

In addition to her work there, she also touched on something else that she is excited for in the new year.

“In 2017, I am looking forward to watching the leadership race continue to unfold and wrap up, and I’m excited to get behind whoever is successful in this leadership race and to begin working with him or her toward victory in 2019.”