The legislation would enact what the government calls the new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Members of Parliament agreed Monday to fast-track the government’s GST credit legislation through the House of Commons by Wednesday.
Melissa Lantsman, one of the Conservatives’ two deputy leaders, received unanimous consent for her motion to quickly approve the bill.
Speaking with reporters on Parliament Hill, Ms. Lantsman said her party is willing to see the bill move through the Commons at “lightning speed,” while expressing concern over the policy’s $12-billion price tag.
The legislation, Bill C-19, is set for its first day of debate Monday. It would enact what the government calls the new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.
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The policy would bring in a five-year enhancement to the quarterly GST/HST credit, which is an income-based benefit paid to about 12 million Canadians. There are no restrictions on how the money is spent.
Ms. Lantsman said her party will “acquiesce” to allow the legislation to pass but also criticized the policy for providing minimal support for individuals at a high fiscal cost.
She pointed out that the credit was not part of the government’s November budget.
“The ink is not even dry on that federal budget, and this is another $12-billion of unaccounted spending,” she said. “Every dollar spent by the federal government is $1 out of the pockets of Canadians. And so we absolutely do have concerns about it.”
Ms. Lantsman’s motion called for the bill to be approved at second reading Monday, sent to the finance committee Tuesday and to be approved by the House at third reading on Wednesday without amendment. The motion calls for the bill to pass “on division,” meaning no recorded vote will be taken.
The legislation would then head to the Senate.
Earlier on Monday, Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques released his office’s independent cost estimate of the benefit.
The program’s six-year price tag is estimated at $12.4-billion, according to the PBO, which is slightly higher than the $11.7-billion estimate provided by the government last week.
Both the PBO and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s office said the differences are partly attributed to technical issues such as differing approaches to economic modelling.
“While we cannot speak to the methodology adopted by the PBO or the assumptions used to support their calculations, we maintain that the total program package will cost $11.7-billion over six years,” said John Fragos, Mr. Champagne’s press secretary.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the measure on Jan. 26, the first day members of Parliament returned to Ottawa after the holiday recess.
The government said it would increase the value of the GST credit by 25 per cent for five years starting in July.
It also announced a one-time top-up payment to be paid “as early as possible this spring and no later than June.”
It said these measures would provide up to an additional $402 per year to a single individual without children, $527 to a couple, and $805 to a couple with two children.
Both the government and the PBO say the cost will be accounted for over six fiscal years because the one-time payment is likely to be recorded in the current 2025-26 fiscal year that ends on March 31.
The Bloc Québécois and the NDP both expressed support for the GST tax credit enhancement during Monday’s debate on the bill.
Mr. Champagne told reporters that opposition MPs seemed critical of the bill when he was defending it in the House.
“Some of them leave me a bit perplexed in terms of their commitment. But again, if they’re good to their words, we’re going to be working on our end,” he said.
Ahead of the current sitting, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wrote an open letter to Mr. Carney offering to “fast-track” action in some specific areas, including making groceries more affordable.