Lethbridge MP Rachael Harder. (Canadian Press)

By David Opinko

“The Liberals are shopping at Gucci when they should probably be going to Walmart” – Harder on budget

Apr 19, 2021 | 5:09 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – To say that Lethbridge’s MP is not a fan of the new federal budget is an understatement.

Rachael Harder, the city’s federal Conservative representative, claims the Liberals are not only shopping at Gucci when they should be going to Walmart, “they’re actually bringing your credit card with them.”

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled the party’s first budget in around two years on Monday, hoping that the economic benefits brought on by $100 billion in new spending would outweigh the financial cost in the long run.

READ MORE: Highlights from the new 2021 federal budget

According to Harder, many Canadians were looking to see more fiscal restraint during one of the country’s worst-ever economic periods and a plan to move the economy forwards.

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“The debt will exceed $1 trillion for the first time ever. To put that into perspective, [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau is adding more debt than all of the previous prime ministers since confederation combined.”

She says if she were putting the budget together, she would ensure that all money spent would be invested in a way that multiplies itself, that, for example, every one dollar spent generates three dollars in economic activity.

Harder does not believe this was the case in the budget we got.

Instead, she wants to see a greater focus on infrastructure and support for industries such as oil and gas, tourism, and hospitality.

The MP called this a “campaign budget”, meaning it is her belief that the federal Liberals promised large sums of money for “partisan priorities rather than spending on measures that would be in the best interests of Canadians as a whole.”

Since the country currently has a minority government, the question with any federal budget is whether the other parties will support it. If the Trudeau administration does not garner enough support, it will trigger a new election.

Harder told LNN that “there’s no way I could vote in favour of something that is to the absolute detriment of Canadians.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has promised to not vote against the budget as he does not want to send Canadians to the poll in the middle of a pandemic.