A motion calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to permanently remove the GST from all forms of home heating was defeated Wednesday after the NDP failed to find support among any major party in the House of Commons.
Similar to Monday’s failed Conservative motion calling for the three-year pause on the carbon price collected from home heating oil to be expanded to all forms of home heating, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s proposal was non-binding, meaning even if it had passed, it wouldn’t have forced the government to act.
Make eco-energy retrofits and heat pumps free and easy to access for low-income and middle-class Canadians, regardless of energy source; and
Finance these projects by putting in place a tax on the excess profits of big oil and gas corporations.
Ahead of the vote, the NDP noted that 13 years ago, then-NDP leader Jack Layton tried to push for a similar proposal, and then too the Liberals and Conservatives rejected it.
This motion was the latest effort from opposition parties to keep the carbon pricing conversation alive on Parliament Hill, after the federal Liberals faced backlash over the home heating oil carve-out to the carbon tax.
In Wednesday’s question period, the fraying cross-party relations over the heated file were on display.
“We put forward a plan to help Canadians with their home heating bills, help Canadians tackle the climate crisis, and make big oil and gas pay for it. Now environmental organizations are on board, but climate delay Liberals, and climate deny Conservatives will back the profits of big oil again. So how can the prime minister and the leader of the Conservative party justify voting against this?” asked Singh.
“Mr. Speaker, it was with confusion and consternation that I noted the way the NDP voted with the Conservatives against one of the most successful measures Canada has ever seen in the fight against climate change,” Trudeau said in response. “Seeing the NDP vote with the Conservatives against a price on pollution is something that has disappointed millions of progressives across this country.”
Then, when it was next his turn to rise and question the prime minister, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre started by first noting how it was “almost tragic and heartbreaking to see these two squabbling in this way.”
Later, responding to a softball question from a backbench Liberal MP about the Conservatives’ stance on climate change, Trudeau accused Poilievre of having “no plan, and no vision,” and that “perhaps he should put his glasses back on,” a nod to the Official Opposition leader’s recent attempts to soften his image.
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.
