Affordability bill: Trudeau accuses Poilievre of blocking


OTTAWA-

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre argued in the House of Commons on Tuesday over concerns of a looming recession and how the federal government should fight inflation, with Trudeau accusing Poilievre of “blocking the Liberals’ bill to implement housing and dental care. advantages.

Tuesday’s Question Period saw a back-and-forth between Trudeau and Poilievre, with the Conservative leader accusing Trudeau of “bragging” about the $500 supplement for low-income tenants under the housing bill. affordability, adding ‘these days you can’t even rent a doghouse in the garden for that kind of money.

He, along with several other Tory MPs, have also repeatedly called on the government to end plans to “triple, triple, triple” the carbon tax.

“It’s not a luxury to heat your house in Canada in the winter, but the Prime Minister wants to punish people for doing it,” Poilievre said.

“If he does not abandon his plan to triple the tax, will he at least have the decency to exempt domestic heating this winter from this tax increase?” he added.

In response, Trudeau said if the Conservatives cared about affordability for Canadians, they would support, not block, Bill C-31. It was a line of attack he repeated throughout the day, beginning first with remarks to reporters as he walked to a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.

“If (Poilievre) really wanted to support low-income families, he would step in and support our measures to give low-income families more money for the cost of dental care for their children, or to help the 1.8 million Canadians who will benefit from our additional housing allowance assistance,” Trudeau told the House.

“Not only is the Leader of the Opposition not supporting these measures to help low-income families with real money this fall, he is blocking their passage through the House, preventing anyone from getting that money,” he said. he added.

Many experts are predicting a recession, with economists at the Royal Bank of Canada saying last week that it was expected as early as 2023.

The Liberals’ Bill C-31, which provides dental benefits for children under 12 and a one-time rental housing benefit for eligible Canadians, has remained at second reading in the House of Commons since it was tabled. September 20.

In a bid to see the bill fast track the remaining stages by the end of next week, the government has put forward a motion that would see MPs burn midnight oil to wrap up their work on the 36-year bill. pages and send it to the Senate. The Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois oppose the government’s attempts to fast-track the bill, suggesting that further study and reflection is needed on the government’s spending plans.

The Liberals promised to focus on affordability and the rising cost of living this fall by passing two pieces of legislation: Bill C-30 to temporarily double the GST credit, which was passed by the Senate and received royal ascension on Tuesday, and the Dental and Housing Benefits Bill. When it comes to the supply and confidence agreement between the Liberals and the NDP, there is some urgency from the government benches, as Trudeau promised the NDP that the government would push through both the law on cost of living and benefits for eligible persons. Canadians, before the end of the year.

As the NDP helps the Liberals move Bill C-31 forward, they are part of the conversation about affordability during Question Period. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has accused the Liberals of having no plan to deal with a looming recession, especially when it comes to employment insurance and support for Canadians at risk of losing their jobs.


With files from CTV News’ Rachel Aiello