Budget includes pocketbook promises on low-alcohol beer, vaping and menstrual products
The federal budget contains several pocketbook initiatives including eliminating the 'sin' tax on low-alcohol beer, slapping one on vaping products, and making menstrual products more readily available for Canadians in need.
LOW-ALCOHOL BEER
As excise tax duties rose recently for alcohol products in Canada, the new budget proposes to get rid of this tax for low-alcohol beer – which is beer with no more than 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume.
At the moment, low-alcohol beer is subject to excise duty rates, while its low-alcohol wine and spirit counterparts are exempt.
“This will bring the tax treatment of low-alcohol beer into line with the treatment of wine and spirits with the same alcohol content, and make Canada’s practices consistent with those in other G7 countries,” according to the federal budget document.
The announcement comes a week after the Conservatives and NDP advanced private members’ bills targeting the rising cost of beverages. Since 2017, excise duty taxes on beer, wine, spirits and other alcoholic beverages have increased automatically every year on April 1.
MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS
A Plan International Canada survey found that over one-third of women and girls in Canada had to make budgetary sacrifices—either often or occasionally—in order to afford menstrual products.
In Budget 2022, the federal government outlined its plan to give $25 million for Women and Gender Equality Canada—a government department previously known as Status of Women Canada—to start a pilot project aimed at making menstrual products available to Canadians in need.
“Access to menstrual products is a basic necessity, but current barriers make it difficult for some women, girls, trans, and non-binary Canadians to fully participate in school, work, and society,” the budget document reads.
The budget document estimates this program would cost a total of $25 million, with $6 million being spent in 2022-2023, and $19 million in 2023-2024.
Federal labour officials have heard repeatedly about lack of menstrual products in workplaces, with stakeholders telling the government about hygiene and health issues if workers turn to “unsuitable improvised solutions” or if they were to “extend the use of products beyond their recommended time frame,” according to a briefing note by stakeholders sent to then-Labour Minister Filomena Tassi last year.
Tassi acknowledged then that menstrual products are “a basic need for many Canadians, however they are often not treated as such." She added menstruation is “a fact of life, and part of supporting the health and safety of employees."
VAPING PRODUCTS
The last budget announced the government’s intention to tax vaping products in an effort to curb the health risks they pose, especially to young people.
Budget 2022 says this excise duty—also known as a sin tax that’s charged on goods like tobacco and alcohol products—will come into effect on Oct. 1 of this year. The tax would amount to $1 for every 2 mL (or fraction thereof) for containers with less than 10 mL of vaping liquid. For containers with more than 10 mL, the rate would be $5 for the first 10 mL and $1 for every additional 10mL (or fraction thereof).
So a 30 ml bottle of vaping liquid would be hit with an excise duty of $7.00 ($5.00 for the first 10 ml and $2.00 for the remaining 20 ml).
“Vaping rates among young people in Canada remain high, and the federal government recognizes the potential risks that vaping products post to them,” says the 2022 federal budget document.
A Health Canada survey found 36 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 19 have tried vaping products. That number rises to 48 per cent for those between 20 and 24.
The budget document outlines projected revenues of $654 million over the next five years, with $69 million coming in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, after which revenues would increase to $145 million for the next three fiscal years. In 2026-2027, the government projects the tax would bring in $150 million.
The federal government also wants provinces and territories to team up to create a vaping taxation framework – under which an additional tax equal to the proposed federal rate would apply. The revenues would be split 50/50 between the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments.
With files from CTVNews.ca’s Sarah Turnbull and the Canadian Press
Get in touch
What do you want to know about the budget? Email dotcom@bellmedia.ca.
- Please include your name, location, and contact information if you are willing to speak to a journalist with CTV News.
- Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.
Collapse
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE SOON Following Trump's conviction in hush money case, he is set to hold news conference
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will likely look to cast the conviction and his campaign in a new light.
'Unprecedented': Human smuggling from B.C. to U.S. soars, using train, Uber and foot
American prosecutors and law enforcement officers say they're dealing with a huge increase in human smuggling from British Columbia.
Actor Nick Pasqual charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing estranged girlfriend
An actor who has appeared in film and TV projects like 'Rebel Moon' and 'How I Met Your Mother' has been arrested and charged with stabbing his estranged girlfriend multiple times.
opinion Six ways to put your saving on autopilot and pay yourself first
In his latest personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew explains how automating your savings and paying yourself has never been easier, thanks to the digital banking tools and apps that are out there.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
ANALYSIS Will Donald Trump go to prison? What the precedent says
Now that the jury in Donald Trump's criminal trial has made the historic decision to convict him, the judge overseeing the case will soon face a monumental choice: whether to sentence the 2024 Republican presidential candidate to time behind bars.
Reactions pour in to Donald Trump's first-ever felony conviction for a former U.S. president
After hours of deliberations, a jury of Donald Trump's New York City peers convicted him on 34 counts, making him the first the former U.S. president in history with a felony conviction.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Local Spotlight
'It really has brought a lot of joy': Family of baby foxes moves into Manitoba woman's yard
Leanne Van Bergen discovered a skulk of 10 baby foxes, and two mothers, had made themselves at home on her property in Beausejour.
81-year-old Waterloo, Ont. woman with paralysis, amputated leg lives out dream of riding horse again
An 81-year-old Waterloo, Ont. woman thought she’d never ride a horse again after a brain bleed led to severe physical complications.
Video shows driver in Toronto frantically getting out of car being pushed by truck
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.
Prince Edward Island celebrates first-ever International Day of Potato
Prince Edward Island is celebrating its first-ever International Day of Potato on Thursday.
'Bigger and better and stronger than ever': Covered Bridge Chips president sets sights for late 2025 rebuild after fire
The president of Covered Bridge Chips in New Brunswick is hoping to have his factory rebuilt for late 2025 following a devastating fire last year.
Winnipeg high school helps lead ducks that nested in courtyard to water
Students and staff at Winnipeg’s Westwood Collegiate had a unique problem to solve this month; how do you lead ducks to water from the school’s courtyard when 12 of them can’t fly yet?
Questions and concerns remain after space junk lands in Saskatchewan
Debby Lorinczy remembers her father as an amazing person and as a man who also made an amazing discovery.
Ski jumper Abigail Strate getting a buzz out of working with bees
Abigail Strate is a member of the Canadian national ski jumping team and an Olympic bronze medallist. She's also a certified beekeeper.
Oilers superfan hopeful Edmonton wins so he can get his massive Stanley Cup tattoo retouched
It's been a long time coming, but one Oilers superfan is hoping this will be the year he gets to touch up his massive Stanley Cup back tattoo.