Two-month GST holiday bill expected to pass the House tonight, Conservatives to vote against

The federal government’s five-page piece of legislation to enact Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promised two-month tax break on a range of consumer goods over the holidays is expected to pass in the House of Commons by the end of the day.

As a winding procedural process unfolds in the chamber to see the bill advance, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has confirmed his MPs will be voting against what he said “isn’t a tax cut.”

“Conservatives will vote against this irresponsible, inflationist… temporary two-month tax trick,” Poilievre told reporters on Thursday. “Now is the worst possible time to be blowing $6 billion trying to save Justin Trudeau’s political skin.”

The minority Liberals introduced Bill C-78 on Wednesday afternoon, revealing the decision to split up the affordability package in the face of political pressure and a ticking clock.

For now, the federal government is focused on enacting the temporary Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) pause through this bill, leaving the promised $250 “Working Canadians Rebate” cheques in limbo.

“Today is a good day in the House of Commons, but it’s also a good day for Canadians. We are voting on and debating… a very important affordability measure that’s going to make a difference in the lives of Canadians,” said Government House Leader Karina Gould.

“For Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, to be opposed to giving Canadians a break over the next couple of months,” Gould said. “I just think it’s really, really disappointing, and I think unfair and a bit hypocritical from the Conservative leader to be against that.”

The move to pull the two pocketbook pieces apart comes after the federal New Democrats threatened to pull the votes the Liberals are relying on to push through the months-long privilege impasse to make the policy a reality. 

“We are demanding that the Liberal government put in place a separated GST holiday first, and then fix the cheques to include seniors and people living with disabilities before we support that,” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters on Wednesday.

Reacting to the Conservatives’ opposition to the measure, Singh accused Poilievre of “bootlicking for billionaires” and “whining about middle class families saving a little money over the holidays.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office said the decision to prioritize the passage of the $1.6 billion tax reprieve – on slate of items including children’s clothing and toys, beer and wine, restaurant and pre-prepared meals, as well as common stocking stuffers – was to ensure it could be enacted by the promised Dec. 14 start-date.

“Canadian families are going to be able to purchase a lot of the things that they would purchase over the holidays with no GST,” said Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull during Wednesday night’s debate on the programming motion to fast-track the bill.

“That is really good for Canadian families who have been challenged with the cost-of-living pressures that they have been living through.”

The workers’ rebate – which the Liberals say they do still intend to follow-through on – isn’t supposed to roll out until April, giving the government some time to find a path to pass it, as the current version doesn’t have the support of any other party.

That’s because the rebate, as it stands, would not be issued to some senior, students, and people with disabilities. Both the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois have called on that to change, stating non-working Canadians should be offered the same financial relief. Though, doing so would considerably increase the cost beyond the current $4.7 billion estimate.

The Bloc have also expressed misgivings about the GST holiday, with Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet telling reporters on Wednesday that “everybody seems to say this is a measure which is basically built on the idea that the Liberal government can try to buy votes.”

With the NDP helping clear the necessary procedural path, debate on Thursday was adjourned on the pair of privilege motions that had been taking up close to all of House time for the last few months.

This let MPs focus on the GST bill, first by deliberating on a programming motion that once passed – expected around 9 p.m. EST – will allow the bill to be fast-tracked in the ensuing hours.

When Bill C-78 does come up for consideration later, it will be the first piece of government legislation to be debated in the House of Commons since late September.

When debate kicks off, it’s expected that just one member from each recognized party and a member of the Green Party will be able to speak to it, for no more than 10 minutes at second reading. After that shorter-than-usual round of questions and comments, there would then be a vote.

That vote will be the only one on the bill itself. If the motion passes, it prescribes that the legislation would then swiftly be referred to a committee of the whole, reported without amendment, concurred in at report stage, deemed read a third time, and passed on to the Senate.

This is a developing story, check back for updates…