NDP's Singh forces debate on $250 cheques for more Canadians; Conservatives cut it short

With the fate of the federal government's promised $250 cheques for 18.7 million workers hanging in the balance, the NDP forced a debate Friday on a motion pushing for the prime minister to expand eligibility.

The conversation was cut short, though, by Conservative MPs' interventions.

After pulling his support from the measure upon discovering the government didn't intend to send the one-time benefit to non-working Canadians, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh used his party's only opposition day of the fall sitting to force a vote on the issue.

Singh wants to see the one-time rebate include "all adults whose income is under the threshold and did not earn employment income in 2023, so that people like recent graduates trying to enter the workforce, retired seniors, people with disabilities, injured workers, workers on parental leave and long-term sick leave, and others in need are included." 

This push comes more than a week after the Liberals announced they would solely advance legislation to enact the GST holiday, putting the benefit cheques on the backburner until they found a path, or the political support necessary, to successfully advance it in Parliament.

• Read more about why other parties want the workers' benefit eligibility expanded 

"The cheques right now that are being proposed will go out to someone earning $149,000 but won't go to a senior. That doesn't make any sense," Singh said, leading off debate in the House of Commons on Friday.

The NDP motion also calls for the two-month GST break to become permanent. The GST break passed the House but still needs to pass the Senate before being enacted Dec. 14. A full-time break was an NDP pledge that predated the prime minister's major affordability announcement a few weeks ago. 

After the Conservatives advanced a non-confidence motion yesterday that quoted Singh's past criticism of Trudeau and his government, the NDP made a point of noting in their motion that "the 2021 Conservative Party platform included a one-time GST holiday."

As debate kicked off, Conservative MPs repeatedly interjected on points of order, and heckling ensued, prompting the Speaker to implore MPs to be respectful of one another.

Then, Deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman raised a question of privilege about a sit-in protest that took place earlier in the week. She argued it impeded MPs from being able to do their jobs.

Discussion over this matter then took over the afternoon sitting in the Commons, with the NDP accusing their opposition counterparts of filibustering, before all sides agreed to adjourn a bit early. 

A similar scene played out on Thursday with the NDP delaying the Conservatives' opposition day debate by forcing a discussion on abortion, connected to a committee report.

Singh's motion is scheduled to come to a vote on Monday.

'All depends on the opposition,' Liberals say

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has been asked repeatedly in recent days what the government's plans are for the cheques and whether they will actually roll out in April as intended.

While indicating they still intend to advance the benefit, Freeland has yet to confirm whether the Liberals are open to expanding eligibility for an affordability measure that's already estimated to cost $4.7 billion.

Another option that's been floated would be to lower the income threshold so the cheques are targeted more narrowly on Canadians making less money, to keep the overall cost of the measure down if it was opened up to non-workers.

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Facing similar questions about how the Liberals plan to move forward with this promise to Canadians, ministers earlier this week said they have heard from constituents who think the measure is important, but that without another party's support, the legislation required to enact it, can't advance.

"Having a desire to do something is one thing, then in a minority Parliament being able to effect that is something else. And you’ve seen for now the oppositions have been blocking the work of Parliament, and I think Canadians have taken notice of that," said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, speaking to reporters outside of a Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday.

"That all depends on the opposition," he said.

The other party the Liberals could look to for the votes, is the Bloc Quebecois, though they, too, have come out against the measure and also want to see the money sent to seniors.

"I continue to work with other parties to figure out how we move forward in a productive way," Government House Leader Karina Gould said midweek.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has said her party was the first to spot and "blow the whistle" on the fact that the cheques wouldn't be going to seniors or people with disabilities.

"Let's see what the government proposes. A $250 cheque which is distributed to people most in need, is something we would get behind," May told reporters on Wednesday.