The 2021 Federal Budget released Monday, April 19 is “disappointing and politically opportunistic.” according to Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod.
McLeod said the budget, the first to come out in two years, failed those looking for a plan to create jobs and future economic opportunities post-pandemic. The new budget will result in a deficit of $354.2-billion in 2020-2021 and $154.7-billion in 2021-2022. She said this would be the equivalent of every Canadian family owing $77,000 in government debt or $33,000 for each individual.
“The Prime Minister wants to test an out-of-control debt plan without any real stimulus, one that abandons the natural resource sector entirely and provides no real fiscal anchor. This Ottawa-knows-best approach will continue to lead to ballooning housing costs, higher taxes, the growing risk of inflation, and will leave millions of Canadians behind,” McLeod said.
While McLeod said it was good to see an extension of COVID support, it was concerning that such measures were still needed. She put the onus of this reality on the government’s “failure to vaccinate Canadians and implements early and appropriate border controls.”
She believes such measures would help Canada reopen its economy sooner and kickstart its recovery as we’ve seen happen in the U.S. and U.K.
McLeod maintains the budget is designed to gather support for the Liberals rather than support Canadians.
“What is most disappointing is that the finance minister took this opportunity to put forward an election-style budget, rather than one that serves the best interests of all Canadians. She herself stated that COVID has created a ‘window of political opportunity’ to create new spending and big-government programs, contrary to the directions in her mandate letter.”