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OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s latest attempt to topple the minority Liberal government in a non-confidence vote failed on Monday, thanks to the New Democrats.
The Conservatives’ motion quoted NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s criticism of the Liberals over labour issues, and called on the House to agree with Singh and vote non-confidence in the government.
The New Democrat leader said last week he would not be supporting Poilievre in bringing down the government.
There were jeers from the Conservative benches as NDP MPs cast their votes against the motion on Monday afternoon.
Singh was not in the House chamber during the vote because of a meeting, and cast his vote remotely.
“We’re not going to vote in favour of any of their games because that’s what (the Conservatives are) doing. They’re playing games,” Singh told reporters after the vote was tallied.
MPs also voted Monday on an NDP opposition motion calling on the government to permanently remove GST from what the New Democrats call essentials.
That motion also called on the Liberals to expand their planned $250 “working Canadians rebate” to include vulnerable adults like fully retired seniors and people who rely on disability benefits. Those payments are expected to be issued this spring, if the required legislation is approved.
The NDP and Greens were the only parties to vote in favour of this motion, resulting in its defeat.
Hamilton East—Stoney Creek Liberal MP Chad Collins was the lone government member to support the NDP motion.
The Liberals initially announced plans for the federal sales tax holiday and the rebate together, but they introduced the GST measure in a separate bill after the NDP said it would not support the rebate unless it was expanded.
The Liberals need the support of one other party in the House of Commons to passed that measure into law, and Singh said Monday he is open to negotiation.
“So I want to see it improved. How that’s done, we’re very flexible, but it has to be improved. Seniors have to get it, people living with disabilities have to get it, a mom trying to raise her kid should get it,” Singh said.
The proposed payments would go to all working Canadians who had an income of less that $150,000 in the last year. The government estimates this would include some 18.7 million people and cost nearly $4.7 billion.
The Conservatives will introduce their final opposition motion of the sitting on Tuesday, with a vote scheduled to happen after question period.
The Tories introduced another motion earlier on Monday that calls for the GST to be removed on the sale of new homes valued at under $1 million, and calls on premiers to enact the same policy for their portion of the sales tax.
That motion will also be up for a vote after question period on Tuesday.
The marathon voting session is set to run late Tuesday, with a separate vote scheduled on the government’s supplementary estimates.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand has asked Parliament for approval of $21.6 billion to fund programs including housing, dental care and the national school food program.
If that does not pass, some programs could face a cash shortfall, including veteran benefits and natural disaster assistance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2024.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
