Conservatives oppose temporary GST holiday bill

Photo: Adrian Wyld The Canadian Press Justin Trudeau “is desperate. That’s why he announced fake, irresponsible, inflationary and electioneering Christmas presents to save his skin. It’s irresponsible,” Pierre Poilievre said Thursday during a press briefing.

Michel Saba – The Canadian Press in Ottawa

Published at 1:35 p.m. Updated at 4:19 p.m.

• Canada

The Conservatives unsurprisingly announced Thursday that they oppose the bill to create a two-month GST holiday, which is expected to pass this evening thanks to the support the Liberals will get from the New Democratic Party. The Bloc Québécois had announced the day before that it opposed the measure.

“He [Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] is desperate. That's why he announced fake, irresponsible, inflationary, electioneering Christmas presents to save his skin. It's irresponsible,” their leader, Pierre Poilievre, said during a press briefing in the foyer of the House of Commons.

Mr. Poilievre said his party favours permanent measures, including eliminating the GST on new housing, cutting “waste and excessive bureaucracy” to reduce the deficit and “fixing the budget to protect everyone’s purchasing power.”

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During question period, Quebec minister Soraya Martinez-Ferrada called him a “grumbler […] who doesn’t want to vote for a tax holiday.”

His Ontario colleague Peter Fragiskatos pointed out that the Conservatives promised a temporary, targeted GST cut in the last election, but are now rejecting it “because it’s a Liberal initiative.” “Let the real Pierre Poilievre rise in this House of Commons,” he sent.

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The Bloc Québécois also found themselves in the hot seat after announcing their colours on Wednesday. The Liberals criticized them for refusing to help Quebecers and the NDP for “allying” with Pierre Poilievre “while people are struggling, […] have difficulty paying their bills, paying their rent.”

“Buying votes”

In a press scrum, Bloc Québécois finance critic Gabriel Ste-Marie judged, on the contrary, that it is a poor use of public funds and denounced that the bill will be adopted as a “mega gag” since MPs will have no opportunity to study it or improve it.

The measure will benefit “especially the wealthiest,” he said, referring to “Cases of champagne, luxury wines.” Conversely, he pointed out that groceries and rent are not taxed anyway, in other words the basic needs that the poorest must meet.

According to him, the measure was drawn up “on the back of a table” with the “electoralist” aim of simply “buying votes.”

Appearing at a microphone a few minutes before question period, NDP deputy leader Alexandre Boulerice declared that, contrary to the Bloc's argument, the GST is a “regressive” tax that hurts the poorest and the middle class more than the richest.

“Paying 5% when you earn $200,000 a year is “peanuts,” he said. When you're making $20,000, $25,000 a year, that 5% on your food, on your kids' clothes, it hurts your wallet a lot more.”

The GST holiday, which would run from Dec. 14 to Feb. 15, affects dozens of commonly purchased Christmas items, including children's clothing and toys, video games and consoles, Christmas trees, restaurant and catered meals, wine, beer and candy.

The NDP agreed to support the bill and force a timeout on the Conservative filibuster that has been blocking the House of Commons for nearly two months.

It had nonetheless demanded that the government decouple the GST cut from the promise to send $250 to most Canadian workers in the spring. The political party wants this benefit to be extended to retirees and disabled people who have no employment income.

Variable savings depending on the province

The government calculates that a person spending $2,000 on such items over the two-month period will save between $100 and $260, depending on the province they live in.

The difference is because the four Atlantic provinces and Ontario have a harmonized sales tax with Ottawa, meaning that the entire tax – 15% in the Atlantic provinces and 13% in Ontario – will be eliminated.

Residents of the other provinces will save only the 5% GST, unless the provincial governments decide to lift their sales taxes as well.

The Trudeau government has not taken any measures to compensate for the revenue losses suffered by the provinces that are seeing their tax revenues cut. At the federal level, this measure is expected to cost about $1.6 billion.

The bill is the first to be debated in the House of Commons since late September.

The Conservatives are refusing to end the House shutdown until the Liberals release unredacted documents on allegations of improper spending by a now-defunct federal green technology fund.

With information from Émilie Bergeron — The Canadian Press