The House of Commons voted on Wednesday on a New Democrat motion to eliminate the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from all home heating expenses. The motion was not passed, with 292 members of parliament voting against it while 30 supported it.“New Democrats have the backs of people,” Party leader Jagmeet Singh told the House. “We are not backing down.”“Now that they are worried about losing seats, the Liberals have decided to help some Canadians deal with the cost of heating,” said Singh. “Unfortunately, the help is going only to the seats the Liberals want to save. Climate action works when it is fair, not when it is divisive, not when the government plays favourites.”According to Blacklock’s Reporter, starting on Friday, the cabinet plans to temporarily halt the collection of the 17 cents per litre carbon tax on heating oil, commonly used for home heating in Atlantic Canada. This region has a significant number of seats held by the Liberal party, totalling 24.“There is no way we can fight the climate crisis and make life better for people if we pit regions against each other,” said Singh. “We voted against that unfairness.”New Democrats sponsored a motion asking that “the House call on the government to remove the GST from all forms of home heating.” Only New Democrats voted for it.“New Democrats are kind of buying into some of the things the Conservatives have been saying,” said Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, MB). “They just want to get rid of the GST on home heating.”“This is irresponsible of the New Democrats and I think it is unfortunate because they are being heavily influenced by the Conservative Party,” said Lamoureux. “They need to get a bit more distance from the Conservative Party to have a healthier party in the future.”The Commons on Monday, by a 186 to 135 vote, similarly rejected a Conservative motion stating “That given the government has announced a ‘temporary three-year pause’ to the federal carbon tax on home heating oil, the House call on the government to extend that pause to all forms of home heating.”During a session in the House of Commons, New Democrat MP Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, MB) expressed his view that regional carbon tax breaks were causing harm.“Serious damage was done to the majority consensus on carbon pricing in Canada when the Liberals decided to introduce regional division into the program,” said Blaikie. “That is not fair.”“When a Liberal cabinet minister from Newfoundland went on CTV News and said the reason they were doing it was to cover their own political rear in the Atlantic region and that people who wanted a break on the carbon tax should be voting Liberal, it was very clear that this was a regional policy motivated by the partisan political interests of the Liberal Party,” said Blaikie.In an interview on October 29, Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings told CTV Question Period that if Canadians want to reduce carbon taxes, they should consider supporting the Liberal party when they vote.“Atlantic caucus was vocal with what they’ve heard from their constituents and perhaps they need to elect more Liberals in the Prairies,” said Hutchings.
The House of Commons voted on Wednesday on a New Democrat motion to eliminate the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from all home heating expenses. The motion was not passed, with 292 members of parliament voting against it while 30 supported it.“New Democrats have the backs of people,” Party leader Jagmeet Singh told the House. “We are not backing down.”“Now that they are worried about losing seats, the Liberals have decided to help some Canadians deal with the cost of heating,” said Singh. “Unfortunately, the help is going only to the seats the Liberals want to save. Climate action works when it is fair, not when it is divisive, not when the government plays favourites.”According to Blacklock’s Reporter, starting on Friday, the cabinet plans to temporarily halt the collection of the 17 cents per litre carbon tax on heating oil, commonly used for home heating in Atlantic Canada. This region has a significant number of seats held by the Liberal party, totalling 24.“There is no way we can fight the climate crisis and make life better for people if we pit regions against each other,” said Singh. “We voted against that unfairness.”New Democrats sponsored a motion asking that “the House call on the government to remove the GST from all forms of home heating.” Only New Democrats voted for it.“New Democrats are kind of buying into some of the things the Conservatives have been saying,” said Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, MB). “They just want to get rid of the GST on home heating.”“This is irresponsible of the New Democrats and I think it is unfortunate because they are being heavily influenced by the Conservative Party,” said Lamoureux. “They need to get a bit more distance from the Conservative Party to have a healthier party in the future.”The Commons on Monday, by a 186 to 135 vote, similarly rejected a Conservative motion stating “That given the government has announced a ‘temporary three-year pause’ to the federal carbon tax on home heating oil, the House call on the government to extend that pause to all forms of home heating.”During a session in the House of Commons, New Democrat MP Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, MB) expressed his view that regional carbon tax breaks were causing harm.“Serious damage was done to the majority consensus on carbon pricing in Canada when the Liberals decided to introduce regional division into the program,” said Blaikie. “That is not fair.”“When a Liberal cabinet minister from Newfoundland went on CTV News and said the reason they were doing it was to cover their own political rear in the Atlantic region and that people who wanted a break on the carbon tax should be voting Liberal, it was very clear that this was a regional policy motivated by the partisan political interests of the Liberal Party,” said Blaikie.In an interview on October 29, Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings told CTV Question Period that if Canadians want to reduce carbon taxes, they should consider supporting the Liberal party when they vote.“Atlantic caucus was vocal with what they’ve heard from their constituents and perhaps they need to elect more Liberals in the Prairies,” said Hutchings.
