Trudeau was also the subject of an attack ad against the provincial NDP by the Saskatchewan Party that was sent out as a robotext to Saskatchewan cellphone owners on Tuesday.
The video ad starts with the text “the NDP is Trudeau’s choice for Saskatchewan.” The ad uses photos from Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck’s trip to Ottawa last week. It claims that Beck attended a meeting to plot a strategy to get Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh re-elected.
A composite image is shown of the three leaders sitting at a table with a blue backdrop. Each met individually with the Canadian Labour Congress but were not in the room together.
The CLC held a meeting last week to “to discuss how they will advance the rights of workers.” The CLC news release is titled “labour reps discuss election strategy and union momentum.”
Premier Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party have taken that and turned it into a political talking point and ad.
In question period on Tuesday, Moe responded to an affordability question from Beck and said the federal carbon tax was an issue.
“Makes me wonder why that leader and members of that caucus answered the call to arms to attend the Trudeau campaign school to keep that individual in place that is going to continue to increase the affordability challenges that Saskatchewan and Canadian families are facing today, far into the future,” Moe said.
Ads meant to distract: Beck
When asked by reporters about the ad, Beck said, “I grew up on a farm, I know a little B.S. when I see it.”
Beck said the ads are meant to “distract” from issues in health care, education and the economy.
“I’m proud of the meetings that we had,” Beck said Monday. “We were in Ottawa talking about jobs, the economy.”
Beck said she did not meet with Trudeau but did meet with federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. She said she expressed her opposition to the federal consumer carbon tax.
“The consumer carbon tax is simply not on for us. The carve-out around heating fuel was unfair.”
WATCH | Sask. residents to keep carbon rebate:
Sask. residents will get carbon tax rebates despite province withholding funds
4 days ago
Duration 2:01
Saskatchewan residents will continue to receive carbon tax rebates from the federal government, despite the province not sending the funds it collects for home heating taxes to Ottawa.
Feds, Sask. differ on carbon tax collection consequences
The “carve-out” Beck is referring to is the exemption on heating oil the federal government applied last year which affects mostly Atlantic Canadians.
The policy choice rankled the Saskatchewan government and leaders in other provinces who called it unfair.
LISTEN | CBC’s Political Panel discusses Trudeau’s carbon rebate decision and Sask. Party ads
The Morning Edition – Sask13:07Political Panel – Apr 26
<p>The prime minister says he won’t punish Saskatchewan people for the actions of our provincial government. We heard this week that we’ll get the full amount of our carbon tax rebates, despite the province not sending on all the tax we owe. Our political panel is in.</p>
Following that decision, the province announced it would no longer remit a carbon levy owed to the federal government ($172 million in 2022).
That decision caused a response from federal cabinet ministers. Federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault called it “immoral” and “irresponsible” and said it was against the law.
Federal Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson said people in the province “would no longer get the rebate.”
Wilkinson said the provincial government’s position was “almost unheard of” in Canada. He would later say the rebates could be scaled back and said there would be “consequences.”
‘Good luck’ arguing with CRA: Trudeau
On Tuesday, Trudeau said people in Saskatchewan paying the carbon tax would not have their rebate touched.
“Premier Moe has decided that he does not want to pay the money to CRA that he is owing. We will not penalize the people of Saskatchewan or in any jurisdiction for that.”
“I don’t know about you, but having an argument with CRA about not wanting to pay your taxes is not a position I want anyone to be in. Good luck with that, Premier Moe,” Trudeau said in Oakville, Ont. on Wednesday.
Duncan said proposed legislation in the federal budget suggests the federal government cannot easily collect money owed by not remitting the carbon levy.
“There is some language that talks about ensuring the minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency can share information with other government ministries or departments. My read of that would be that they might not have the ability they think they have, but we’ll wait to see. We haven’t seen the legislation yet.”
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
