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By Dylana Kneeshaw

FEDERAL BUDGET REVEAL

Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP concerned with federal budget spending levels

Apr 19, 2021 | 5:08 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod says the amount of spending announced in Monday’s (Apr. 19) federal budget will be expensive for Canadians.

With a $354 billion deficit posted for the pandemic year, the Conservative MP feels the recently-tabled budget should have been more modest.

“Certainly we acknowledge the extraordinary challenges of COVID-19 and the spending that had to be done,” McLeod says, “but what many people were warning (Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland) before this budget is they didn’t have to go ahead with $104 billion into the future because they’re seeing that the economy is actually going to be quite robust.”

McLeod says she understands that the COVID-19 relief programs had to continue because a full re-opening is not on the table yet. However she feels the programs would not have needed extensions if the pandemic response had been more effective.

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“Countries that either maintained their borders and actually dealt with the crisis like Australia, like some others, have been able to reopen much sooner. Countries that have really rolled out the vaccine program — whether it’s Israel, the U.K, the U.S — they have been able to get their economies back on track very quickly. So again, the programs had to continue, but in part it’s because we haven’t been vaccinated enough yet in Canada.”

One of the largest investment areas laid out in the more than 700 page budget was child care and early learning — with the Liberals planning for $10-dollar-a-day child care by 2026.

“First of all, Liberals have promised child care for probably 20 to 30 years now. So I always meet their promise of child care with a little bit of skepticism,” McLeod says, noting the long term financial impact this spending may have. “My other concern is the infants and children that benefit from this child care are going to have to pay for their own child care as adults.”

The latest budget also proposed $3 billion over five years to support province and territories in improving standards for long-term care. McLeod notes this is generally provincial jurisdiction, but the pandemic has shown change is needed.

“Again, the federal government has not done a good job in the areas of their own jurisdictions, so I do worry a little bit in terms of when they want to tell the provinces how they do things. But again, obviously something needs to improve and if we can have a collaborative approach to improvement as opposed to them telling provinces what to do, that is a reasonable focus.”

McLeod figures other parties will give their support for the Liberals’ budget and doesn’t anticipate a confidence vote will dissolve government and bring a springtime federal election.