Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government plans to roll out a six-month boost to the GST tax credit, a dental benefit for some children, and a one-time top up of the Canada Housing Benefit — all totalling $4.5 billion — to help Canadians cope with the soaring cost of living.
Speaking from the Liberal caucus retreat on Tuesday, Trudeau unveiled the spending plans, which build on commitments made in the most recent federal budget earlier this year.
Since that was released in April though, inflation has risen and remained stubbornly high even as the Bank of Canada pushes forward with interest rate hikes, keeping the cost of everything from groceries to gas to all kinds of consumer goods and services elevated. Read more: NDP’s Singh says party will push government to act on dental care, housing Of that $4.5 billion, $3.1 billion is in addition to the spending on affordability announced in that budget, Trudeau said.
He billed the dental benefit for some children under the age of 12 as the “first step” in a key commitment made by the Liberals with the NDP in the governance agreement the two parties struck.