Liberals and Conservatives vote against NDP motion that would help BC families

OTTAWA – On Monday, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives teamed up to vote against the NDP motion to make the 2-month GST holiday permanent. The permanent GST break would have lowered prices on home heating, internet and cell phone bills and daily essentials like groceries, diapers and children’s clothing.

“The Liberals know that getting rid of the GST on essential items will help Canadians, but they voted against making it a permanent solution – it just doesn’t make sense,” said North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney. “People need real relief to help manage the cost-of-living crisis this government has brought us towards, and yet when presented with a way to give people a break, the Liberals sided with the Conservatives and voted it down.”

Local food bank, Loaves & Fishes is experiencing the strain of having record amount of visitors, and asked the government to help to fund construction of a new warehouse to meet demands. Blaney saw first-hand the impacts the food bank has on the local community this past summer.

“Throughout all communities families are struggling to make ends meet and are feeling disengaged by a government who seems to have forgotten about them,” added Blaney. “Meanwhile the Conservatives believe that tax breaks are for billionaires, not for the people who need them.”

The NDP motion would have also broadened $250 relief cheques to include retired seniors, people who just entered the workforce and injured workers.

An NDP government will fund its GST cut with an excess profit tax paid by very large corporations that hike their profit margins. Excess profit or windfall taxes are used world-wide, including in the United Kingdom, Spain and Australia and have been used in Canada.

“New Democrats won’t stop fighting for ways to save you money. We brought forward pharmacare, dental care and a national school lunch program that will help families keep more money in their pocket each week, and we will continue to stand up for the working class.”

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BACKGROUND: NDP MOTION
That, given that,
(i) Canadians are facing an affordability crisis and need more than temporary relief,
(ii) the government’s $250 Working Canadians Rebate would exclude many workers and other Canadians who need it the most,
(iii) the 2021 Conservative Party platform included a one-time GST holiday,
the House calls on the government to:
(a) permanently remove the GST from essential goods, including home heating, grocery meals, Internet and mobile phone bills, diapers and kids’ clothes;
(b) expand the rebate to include all adults whose income is under the threshold and did not earn employment income in 2023, so that people like recent graduates trying to enter the workforce, retired seniors, people with disabilities, injured workers, workers on parental leave and long-term sick leave, and others in need are included; and
(c) pay for that measure by putting in place an excess profit tax targeting the largest and most profitable corporations.