ottawa –
The bill providing for a two-month GST holiday is expected to be passed today.
The bill was introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon on behalf of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, with help from the NDP to at least temporarily halt debate on the Conservative filibuster.
The NDP agreed to support the bill after Freeland separated the GST suspension from a promise to send $250 to most working Canadians in the spring.
The NDP wants the benefits expanded to include seniors who aren’t working and people with disabilities who don’t have a working income.
Liberal Ryan Turnbull, Freeland’s parliamentary secretary, said during a debate on the bill Wednesday night that the aim is to address repeated fiscal shocks caused by high inflation following the coronavirus pandemic and supply chain disruptions related to climate disasters. The aim is to support Canadians who are suffering from the virus.
The holiday affects dozens of items commonly purchased at Christmas time, including children’s clothing and toys, video games and consoles, Christmas trees, restaurants and catered food, wine, beer, candy, and snacks. give.
The government says someone who spends $2,000 on such items over a two-month period will save between $100 and $260, depending on the state.
The difference is because the four Atlantic provinces and Ontario have sales taxes harmonized with Ottawa, which means their full amount will increase by 15 per cent in the Atlantic Coast and 13 per cent in Ontario. Masu.
Other states only save 5% GST unless the government chooses to increase the state sales tax.
Canada has not moved to provide compensation to offset provincial revenue losses in line with the federal government’s move on GST.
The move is expected to cost about $1.6 billion, according to the federal government. Ontario announced Wednesday it will cost the Treasury about $1 billion to remove the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax from items, but some items subject to the federal GST holiday already have the provincial portion. Permanently exempted.
Alberta doesn’t charge provincial sales tax, so you save 5%.
Conservative financial commentator Jasraj Singh Haran said in Wednesday night’s debate that suspending the GST is “nothing more than a cheap gimmick to buy votes from Canadians.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the bill should pass tonight despite Conservative Leader Pierre Poièvre’s “hate.”
“The New Democratic Party is not going to let him win the fight,” Singh said.
But he said the NDP wants to permanently exempt household items and monthly internet, phone and home heating costs from the GST.
The Liberals needed the NDP’s help to halt consideration of a Conservative motion that has tied up the House of Commons for nearly two months. The Conservatives refused to end the debate until the Liberals produced an unredacted document about alleged irregularities in the now-defunct federal Environmental Technology Fund.
The bill is the first new bill to be debated in the House of Representatives since late September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2024.
