Trudeau noncommittal on expanding rebate beyond ‘working Canadians’

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This article was published 29/11/2024 (312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not appear willing Friday to budge on his plan to send a $250 rebate to “hardworking Canadians,” despite pressure from the opposition to give the money to seniors and people who are not able to work.

The rebate is one of two affordability measures the Liberals announced this month, the other being a plan to temporarily cut the federal sales tax on a list of items that are popular over the holidays.

The GST holiday bill passed in the House of Commons late Thursday night with the help of the NDP, and needs approval from the Senate before the tax break takes effect in a little over two weeks.

At an event on Prince Edward Island, Trudeau was asked if the government would expand the rebate to non-working seniors and people with disabilities — ideas supported by the NDP and Bloc Québécois.

Trudeau was noncommittal, saying the measure — aimed at those who make up to $150,000 a year — is meant to recognize working Canadians who need extra support. He said the government is looking at other ways to help people who aren’t eligible for the money.

He touted some of the measures the government is already doing to support seniors, but said he’s heard from working Canadians who are struggling, and feeling forgotten by the government.

“So we realized that everyone needs a little extra support right now, and specifically those folks who have been working really hard over the past years, that got us through the pandemic,” Trudeau said.

As the proposal stands now, anyone who did not work in 2023 is ineligible for the $250.

While the NDP came to the Liberals’ aid in passing the GST holiday bill just hours earlier, Trudeau was quick to criticize his party’s dance partner for not also supporting the $250 rebate proposal.

“So to see the NDP, which was supposedly the party of workers, to turn its back on hardworking Canadians and say, ‘No we shouldn’t be delivering this cheque unless we expand it massively,’ is not recognizing working Canadians for the challenges they’re facing,” Trudeau said.

While the Liberals plan to have the cheques roll out in April, it’s not certain the bill will make it to the floor of the House of Commons for a vote.

The GST holiday bill was able to pass as the Liberals got support from the NDP to pause the Conservatives’ ongoing privilege motion. The Tories are pressing the Liberals to hand over documents related to misspending on a green-tech fund, and have held up all other government business in the process.

It means the Liberals will again need the support of another party to get the rebate bill to a vote — something the Conservatives, Bloc and NDP say they wouldn’t support.

As it stands, the rebate would apply to some 18.7 million Canadians at a cost of $4.7 billion.

“If the government wanted to amend it so it wouldn’t cost as much, it would have to lower the annual income eligibility from $150,000,” Sen. Clément Gignac, part of the independent Canadian Senators Group, told The Canadian Press.

“Where I’m uncomfortable and in disagreement with the government, is the annual income eligibility is too high,” he said, speaking in French. “For a couple, that’s $300,000. It’s far from the middle class. I have a hard time with such generosity.”

Gignac also said the recent threat from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump of 25-per-cent tariffs could be a “game-changer.”

“If we get those tariff hikes at the end of January, this rebate would arrive much too late in April, and Canada will risk experiencing a recession,” Gignac said.

“If there aren’t any tariffs, I think we wouldn’t really need this measure. Or at least target those who really need it. And right now that includes low-income seniors, those on social assistance.”

Gignac said he will, however, be supporting the Liberals’ other measure of the GST pause as it passes through the Senate.

The two-month tax break covers dozens of items, including children’s clothes and toys, video games and consoles, Christmas trees, restaurant and catered meals, wine, beer, candy and snacks.

The government said a person who spends $2,000 on eligible items over the two-month period will save between $100 and $260, depending on the province.

It would take effect on Dec. 14 and run until Feb. 15, giving the Senate less than two weeks to review, debate and pass it.

In debating the bill Thursday night, Bloc Québécois MP Marilene Gill said the list of items exempted from the GST was “completely arbitrary” and it must have been drawn up on the fly.

Speaking to reporters at a funding announcement Friday in Toronto, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government looked at two things in determining the list of eligible items.

“First of all, what were the items that would really help Canadians’ families over the holidays to afford the things they need, and maybe save a little bit of money for the things they want,” Freeland said.

“We know governments can’t control the price at the checkout. But we can help put a little bit more money back in the pockets of Canadians.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2024.