NDP threatens to withdraw support if Liberal $250 cheque excludes seniors

Photo: Sean Kilpatrick The Canadian Press New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa, Nov. 25, 2024

Michel Saba – The Canadian Press in Ottawa

Posted at 19:27 Updated at 21:30

• Canada

The New Democratic Party (NDP) is now demanding that seniors be eligible for the $250 cheque in order to vote for the bill, as originally announced. And it warns that until that is “fixed,” the piece of legislation will have to be split up so that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rebate can be voted on.

“If they want to get the support of the NDP, they need to first separate the GST holiday and make sure people can get it right away,” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh warned in a media scrum on the sidelines of a discussion with union leaders Tuesday.

Mr. Singh then demands that the $250 cheque, which is intended for people with working incomes of $150,000 or less in 2023, be extended to seniors, people with disabilities and people who were unable to work in 2023.

How did Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government react when you informed them of these demands, a reporter asked him? “We’re letting them know right now,” he sent.

In fact, the NDP has announced that it does not even intend to help the Liberals force a pause on the Conservatives’ parliamentary obstruction, which would allow the bill to even be tabled and debated, if its conditions are not met.

To get these measures through Parliament, the Liberals need the support of at least one opposition party — and the NDP was willing to do that, even initially taking credit for forcing the government to adopt their GST idea, at least in part.

But Singh said Monday that his party had announced its position based on misleading information from the Liberals that everyone earning less than $150,000 would be eligible. The NDP then inferred that seniors, people with disabilities and students would be eligible, which was not the case since they had to have declared earned income.

The Bloc Québécois, for its part, would be “a priori” in favour of the measure if seniors receive the cheques. Its leader, Yves-François Blanchet, reiterated Tuesday during question period his proposal that the government reduce the maximum income making citizens eligible for the cheque and that it take the opportunity to expand the distribution to seniors.

“Before today’s workers, there were others. People who worked all their lives, who paid taxes all their lives, who have no alternative recourse. The government gives cheques to people who don’t need them and doesn’t give them to those who need them most,” he said.

Prime Minister Trudeau responded that the cheque was for “those who work hard and struggle,” but that the government is taking targeted measures to help different groups. He cited, among other things, increasing child care spaces and increasing the Canada child benefit.

“We’re helping seniors with dental care, with a 10% increase in the guaranteed income supplement in 2015, with an increase in the old age pension for seniors over 75,” he said.

The Conservatives have not announced their position on the proposed measures. Their leader, Pierre Poilievre, indicated Tuesday that a position will be taken at the national caucus the following morning.

The Liberals announced last week that they are proposing a GST holiday over the holidays and to distribute the $250 cheques in the spring, measures that the Conservative and Bloc leaders have called a ploy to buy the votes of Canadians struggling with the rising cost of living.

The GST “holiday,” which would run from Dec. 14 to Feb. 15, would apply to a number of goods and services, including children’s clothing and footwear, toys, diapers, restaurant meals and beer. It would also apply to Christmas trees, a variety of snacks and prepared foods, and even video game consoles.