Leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period, in Ottawa, on Nov. 26.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is signalling that his party will not support the government’s proposed sales-tax holiday or $250 cheques for working Canadians, dismissing the first measure as too temporary to have a meaningful impact and criticizing the second as inflationary.
The NDP, meanwhile, on Tuesday made their support for the package conditional on non-working Canadians, including retirees, students and people with disabilities, also receiving the cheques.
With the Bloc Québécois also demanding an expansion in eligibility for the payments to retirees, the minority Liberals appear to be without a partner to pass their spending plan aimed at affordability relief – unless the government agrees to significant changes that could dramatically increase the cost.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the $6.28-billion plan to cut the GST, the federal sales tax, on some items for two months, starting Dec. 14. It would also send all working Canadians $250 cheques in April, as long as they did not earn more than $150,000 in net income last year.
On Tuesday, Mr. Poilievre told reporters on Parliament Hill that the Conservatives will make their final decision on the measures at their Wednesday caucus meeting. But in advance of that, he made a strong case against the policies, which his MPs echoed during question period later in the day.
“Our priority is not to save you 10 cents on a bag of potato chips right before quadrupling the carbon tax on your heat, housing, gas and groceries,” Mr. Poilievre said in reference to the GST holiday, which covers items such as junk food, beer, wine, prepared meals and kids toys.
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“What we need is a real, common sense plan to slash bureaucracy and waste in order to bring down taxes, inflation and interest rates.”
On the $250 cheques, he said: “You’re not actually increasing purchasing power by printing money, borrowing cash and sending out cheques.”
He also noted that Mr. Trudeau has previously made the case that such benefit cheques would be inflationary. Asked about those comments last week, the Prime Minister said that circumstances have changed because inflation has cooled.
Mr. Poilievre’s Ontario counterpart, Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford, also plans to send people $200 cheques next year – a policy set to cost $3-billion.
On Tuesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he was making his Monday request that the Liberals expand eligibility for the federal cheques a condition for his party’s support of the spending plan. His office on Monday had said they were not making an ultimatum, but a day later, Mr. Singh upped the ante.
“We will not support what they presented,” he said. “I want to see the cheques fixed, and then we’ll support it.”
That demand was echoed by Liberal MP Chad Collins, who posted on social media on Tuesday that he “cannot support an affordability package that does not include support for seniors [and] people with disabilities.”
Mr. Singh said the government should separate out the two policies to ensure the sales tax holiday can still come into force while more work is done to change the eligibility for the cheques.
In response to the NDP’s demand, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s spokesperson defended the existing policy and urged opposition parties to support it.
“It would be categorically false to say seniors and Canadians with disabilities are excluded from the Working Canadians Rebate,” Katherine Cuplinskas said in an e-mail statement about the $250 cheques. She noted that many seniors and people with disabilities also work.
Federal ministers going into cabinet on Tuesday appeared lukewarm to the demands, which would significantly increase the cost of the proposed programs.
Some cabinet members, such as Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, acknowledged that the government might have to make concessions to ensure it passes the House of Commons. But Citizens’ Services Minister Terry Beech defended the package as is and said the government has to keep the overall budget in mind.
“We have a fiscal framework that we have to stay within,” he said. “Politics is the art of the possible, but I think the package that we have is very good.”
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Before the NDP made their demand a condition of support for the policy, Ms. Freeland declined to say Tuesday whether the government will expand the cheque eligibility.
House Leader Karina Gould said the government is negotiating with the other political parties on the measures but declined to discuss the status of those talks.
The government has already released the draft legislation for its original spending proposals and put a motion on the House notice paper that would allow the bill to be quickly passed through the House. The earliest that motion can be voted on is Thursday.