Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rises in the House of Commons during Question Period, in Ottawa, on Nov. 20.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to unveil a multibillion-dollar package of affordability policies on Thursday that will include GST relief in a bid to alleviate pocketbook pressures heading into Christmas, according to sources.
The policies will include some temporary relief from the GST and will not be income-tested, three sources with direct knowledge of the plan said.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources who were not permitted to disclose the details prior to Mr. Trudeau’s announcement.
Two of the sources said the NDP was briefed on the package on Wednesday afternoon. Late in the evening, the party sent a statement that in part pre-empted the Prime Minister’s announcement and took credit for the GST change.
“The NDP is delivering a winter tax holiday to Canadians. The Prime Minister’s Office just informed us that he’s caving to our Tax-Free-Essentials campaign – partly,” a statement from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said.
Last week, the NDP proposed permanently removing the GST from essentials such as heating, cellphone and internet bills, grocery-store items, including prepared meals, as well as diapers and baby clothes. In his statement, Mr. Singh said the Liberals were “letting people down” by implementing only part of what the NDP proposed and only for a short time.
The Liberal package would require legislated changes, which means Liberals will need the support of another party to end the two-month standoff in the House of Commons that has stymied most other work. The stalemate is over the government’s refusal to release documents connected to a green fund spending scandal. Until debate on that issue ends, the government cannot get its agenda, including the planned affordability relief, through the House.
While Mr. Singh’s statement did not specify if the party will vote to end the filibuster, he said it will support the affordability package.
Mr. Singh’s office said he would have more to say on Thursday.
Only hours earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Singh insisted to reporters on Parliament Hill that the Liberals should release the documents, as requested by a majority of MPs. He said the NDP will not let the Liberals “get away with not being transparent.”
“They should smarten up, stop playing these games, disclose the documents and let’s move forward.”
The sources said the minority Liberals are hoping that the affordability measures are significant enough to win the NDP’s support to also end the standoff in order to ensure the GST relief is implemented.
On Wednesday, Mr. Singh called on the premiers to match his proposed GST relief by removing their provincial sales tax from the same items.
The Prime Minister will unveil the new affordability policies alongside Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland at an event in the Greater Toronto Area. He will then visit a grocery store to discuss food affordability, according to his public itinerary.
In September, the NDP ended their formal agreement with the minority Liberals to support them in the House in exchange for policy concessions. Since then, the party has said it will give its support to Liberal legislation on a case-by-case basis based on the New Democrats’ assessment of whether the policy is good for Canadians.
The Globe has previously reported that the NDP would not negotiate any deal to prop up the Liberals in the House for the long term. Instead, New Democrats will make public demands that the government will have to meet to gain NDP support for each vote in the Commons.