Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, calling parliamentarians “clowns” in this place is unparliamentary, and it is unbecoming of him. I would ask him to withdraw that comment immediately.
Chrystia Freeland Liberal
This bill has received Royal Assent and is, or will soon become, law.
This is from the published bill.
This enactment amends the Excise Tax Act in order to implement a temporary GST/HST holiday between December 14, 2024 and February 15, 2025 inclusively in respect of certain taxable supplies.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-78s:
This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Bill C-78 amends the Excise Tax Act to implement a temporary GST/HST holiday between December 14, 2024, and February 15, 2025 on certain qualifying goods such as children's clothing, diapers, food, books, and Christmas trees. The goal is to provide tax relief to Canadians during the holiday season, with an estimated $1.6 billion in federal tax savings. While supporters believe this will stimulate the economy and offer needed savings, critics argue it is a short-term gimmick that will disproportionately benefit larger businesses and may create administrative burdens for smaller retailers.
Liberal
Conservative
NDP
Bloc
Green
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, calling parliamentarians “clowns” in this place is unparliamentary, and it is unbecoming of him. I would ask him to withdraw that comment immediately.
John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON
Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, I would say that it is offensive to clowns to be compared to the NDP.
Tax Break for All Canadians ActGovernment Orders
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, an apology is warranted, considering the comments by the colleague from Perth—Wellington.
Tax Break for All Canadians ActGovernment Orders
The Speaker Greg Fergus
The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn used language not conducive to making sure that a debate can happen here. Because it was not directed at a particular member, usually there is a lot of latitude in terms of the language used, and so we are going to move on.
Tax Break for All Canadians ActGovernment Orders
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
Tax Break for All Canadians ActGovernment Orders
Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, I also wanted to point out that the member said he was going to fire the “clowns”. It was directed at people. He does not have any power to fire anyone. That is the problem—
Tax Break for All Canadians ActGovernment Orders
The Speaker Greg Fergus
I thank the hon. member. The Speaker has already ruled on that.
The hon. member for Manicouagan has the floor.
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, clearly it can be hard to discuss this in a way that is constructive for society. The fact that this bill will not go to committee is problematic. Everyone is accusing everyone else of hypocrisy. Personally, I think that is unfortunate. People are having trouble defending this bill, and the choice of goods on the list seems somewhat arbitrary. Even regular people think this is a vote-getting measure. There are issues because this seems like it was hastily cobbled together.
I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.
Jasraj Singh Hallan Conservative Calgary Forest Lawn, AB
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member. It seems as though the plan or policy was written on the back of a napkin and put together as quickly as possible to try to distract from the pain and misery the Liberal-NDP government has caused Canadians for the last nine years, or from the fact that inside the House, we have been discussing for the last two months the absolute corruption of the government that keeps on happening. It is just another ethics scandal under the belt of the government, which of course the NDP keeps propping up.
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Mr. Speaker, how about some mixed Liberal-NDP improv? The theme is: climbing in the polls. The duration is: the length of time allocation. This is like bad improv. Quebec's national improv league could do better—at least they are prepared for what they are getting into. I am ashamed of what I am seeing. I wish it were a joke or just a skit, but unfortunately it is not. What we are witnessing is total and complete improvisation by the government and its dance partner. No one in Laurentides—Labelle has ever talked to me about a GST holiday, not once. It will have a direct impact on businesses, but will be of very little benefit to the people . We all agree that the die has already been cast.
When someone's entire income goes to meet basic needs, the GST holiday offers very little. Rent is already zero-rated. Groceries are already tax-free. Heating is taxed, but Bill C‑78 does not remove the GST from heating. It does, however, remove the GST from alcohol. If I decide to go to a restaurant for dinner and treat myself to a nice bottle, it seems only fair that I should pay GST on a luxury product. However, the government has decided that it is a good idea to give a GST rebate to those who can afford a bottle of Veuve Clicquot this holiday season. In fact, some people may have had some tonight. They can go out and buy it by the case. For members' information, this morning I checked the website of the SAQ, Quebec's liquor board, and a 750-millilitre bottle of Veuve Clicquot sells for $84. That is definitely a luxury.
A tax holiday is being offered to the well-heeled. Those with the bare minimum in their bank accounts count every dollar, and every expense counts. Moreover, those expenses are for products that are already tax-free.
Earlier, I heard the member for Alfred-Pellan say this will help business owners. A person would have to be completely out of touch to say that. The government definitely did not think of small businesses owners, who are struggling to keep their businesses afloat. I know this because it is something I myself will go through. Let me name just one of the people who contacted me. Marc Hallée, the owner of Bistro des Chutes in Chute‑Saint‑Philippe, contacted me this morning. He was irate. I get it. He said this measure makes no sense. There is one technician for about 300 businesses. How are they going to reconfigure their cash registers? It will cost thousands of dollars. They will deal with it, but they definitely will not be ready by December 14. What will they do on February 14 to reinstate the GST on February 15? Nobody knows.
This is a double standard for a measure that will end up forcing business people like Marc Hallée to bring in technicians twice, and that will cost them money. I do not get it.
In the restaurant industry, profit margins are slim. I am thinking of everyone tuning in right now. This is really detrimental to the small business ecosystem. It is happening because the government and the NDP are so far down in the polls that they are looking for a gimmick that will help them claw their way back up into the light. Let us be honest. That is what is really going on here.
I am thinking of the businesses that ship products across Canada. Billing is done according to the province where the product is ordered and delivered. Imagine the headache for a business that is shipping products for Christmas. Honestly, it is a nightmare. No, this is not going to help businesses. It is going to help the large multinationals and big box stores. No shops on main street in Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Jovite or Mont-Tremblant, or on Madone street in Mont-Laurier is applauding this measure. These people are tearing out their hair trying to figure out how they will manage.
Wanting to give tax breaks to the rich makes even less sense coming from left-wing political parties. It makes no sense. We know that the Liberals are going to blame us for voting against the measure. I can hear it, but that does not bother me because I do not underestimate people's intelligence and they understand us. We are voting against this measure because it is a bad measure for Quebec and Quebeckers. A GST holiday is not going to help those who struggle to feed their family, those who have to wait in line at a charity or a food bank. These people need direct help and support for their real needs. Let us just say it: The purpose of this measure is to support consumer spending of the well-off. The Liberals and the NDP would rather support champagne socialists than help people who really need it. That is the reality. I cannot get over the NDP supporting this. They may change their minds yet. There are still a few minutes left.
It is also strange to see that, in the provinces where the sales tax is harmonized, no one in the government, not the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs or anyone in their offices, thought it would be a good idea to warn the provincial governments. The provincial governments found out about this 24 hours before the Prime Minister held his press conference in a chic kitchen in Toronto. That says a lot. First, it proves just how much contempt the federal government has for the provinces. Second, it proves just how quickly this measure was thrown together. Everyone here is talking about this measure this evening without really having had the chance to think about it. There is more. This might be news to my English Canadian colleagues, but Revenu Québec collects the GST in Quebec. The federal government pays Revenu Québec for that service. However, the Liberal-NDP alliance—people like to call it that, so I will too—did not seem to think about that and did not consider compensating Quebec for that. We are not talking about huge amounts here, but it shows how the government is making things up as it goes along.
I am going to close by telling the House that I am totally opposed to this bill. I do not want to vote in favour of a tax holiday for the wealthy. I care too much about people who are in need right now, who are living in extremely vulnerable situations. If any parliamentarian wants to criticize the fact that we are opposed to this, they should come and see me. We will have a nice little chat. I will introduce them to some people. The purpose of taxes is to provide services and help people. I am telling the citizens of Laurentides—Labelle that the government is not doing its job. The government is throwing this at us before Christmas, business owners are stuck with it, people are furious and, honestly, using time allocation is an insult to the power of legislators.
Tax Break for All Canadians ActGovernment Orders
Winnipeg North Manitoba
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I must say I am disappointed in the Bloc, because what we see is what I would suggest is an unholy alliance between the double blue, where we have the Bloc siding with the Conservatives, not recognizing the true value of giving constituents throughout the country a holiday GST tax break. Giving the impression that her constituents would not support the tax break, I believe, is not fully the truth. At the end of the day, I believe people deserve it. Providing that holiday GST tax break would be a good thing, and we should all be supporting it.
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have to accept the fact that every time we vote with a party, there is an alliance.
As I said, the Bloc Québécois always asks the same question. Is this good for Quebec? If so, then we vote in favour of it. Is this bad for Quebec and Quebeckers? If it is bad, then we vote against it. We are not voting against this measure because we are an opposition party. We are voting against it because, like I have been saying, the measure is ill-conceived. What is more, we are not even going to have an opportunity to examine it in committee, and it will last for only two months.
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for my colleague. How is helping struggling Quebeckers by sending them several hundred dollars at a very expensive time during the holiday season bad for Quebeckers or for Quebec?