The federal Tories are opening the door in support of part of the Liberal government’s affordability plan in one of their first moves with Pierre Poilievre as the party’s new leader.
Tory MPs used their first caucus meeting since parliament resumed this week to discuss the proposal, which includes the first phase of a dental plan and doubling GST credits.
The Liberal government tabled two bills on Tuesday that would spend about $4.5 billion on measures to help Canadians deal with rising costs associated with inflation.
Tory MP Michael Barrett says the party will not support legislation to create a new dental benefit for children from low-income households, but it may support legislation promising to double GST credits.
Barrett says the Conservatives don’t believe that’s the best way to help families struggling with the cost of living, they recognize it’s still a way to do it.
The Trudeau government struck a deal with the federal New Democrats earlier this year that would see the party support minority Liberals in exchange for advancing some NDP priorities, including dental care.
With that, min who filed the bill for Freeland yday @R_Boissonnault said, “If the Conservatives are willing to support our doubling of the GST tax credit, that’s good news for Canadians. And that’s good news for what the people sent us here to do… get together and do the work on their behalf.
— Rachel Aiello (@rachaiello) September 21, 2022
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 21, 2022.