November 22, 2024 | Advertise with us

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Liberals to provide GST holiday on some goods and send $250 to Canadians

The federal governing Liberals led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced two affordability measures to roll out over the next few months.

The government has announced a $250 rebate for Canadians who earned less than $150,000 in 2023, and a GST holiday on specific items for two months. Cost of living and affordability remain top-of-mind for Canadian voters, and Trudeau’s personal popularity is at an all-time low.

The Liberal government will also send $250 cheques to the 18.7 million people in Canada who worked in 2023 and earned $150,000 or less. The government is calling the cheques the "Working Canadians Rebate," and they will arrive sometime in early spring 2025.

The GST/HST holiday will start on Dec. 14 and run through Feb. 15, 2025. People will be able to buy the following goods GST-free:

• Prepared foods, including vegetable trays, pre-made meals and salads, and sandwiches.

• Restaurant meals, whether dine-in, takeout or delivery.

• Snacks, including chips, candy and granola bars.

• Beer, wine, cider and pre-mixed alcoholic beverages below 7 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV).

• Children's clothing and footwear, car seats and diapers.

• Children's toys, such as board games, dolls and video game consoles.

• Books, print newspapers and puzzles for all ages.

• Christmas trees.

With these exemptions, all food in Canada will be essentially tax-free. According to government figures, if a family spends about $2,000 on eligible goods in the two-month period, they can expect to save about $100.

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SSBA President loses trustee seat

A well-known school board trustee lost her seat last month.

Jamie Smith-Windsor was the school board trustee for Ward 3 of Saskatchewan Rivers. Smith-Windsor was first elected as a trustee in 2009, was the longest-serving incumbent up for re-election, and was the President of the Saskatchewan School Board Association. She was also named Vice President of the national school board association.

Smith-Windsor was defeated by Jill Brown. Brown won all but one polling station, the one in Smith-Windsor’s home of Christopher Lake. She carried polling stations in Meath Park, Albertville, Candle Lake, Paddockwood and Spruce Home School. Brown said she appreciated the support she received.

Brown said, “It was just really nice to see. I got out and I talked to a lot of people, and it was great to hear so many different viewpoints from different people in different communities which all like very similar types of concerns and interests and what they want to see moving forward, so it was it was good.”

Brown said that her top issues are addressing class size, complexity, and safety. She said, “As I did more research, I learned and discovered that Sask Rivers School Division is getting less money from the government, actually, approximately $13 million per year than they were in 2010, which is shocking.”

Earlier this year during the teacher job action, Smith-Windsor came under fire after publicly saying class size and complexity should not be an issue for bargaining.

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Elected Officials sworn-in across the province

The Saskatchewan provincial and municipal elections took place over the past weeks. This week the winners in those races were officially sworn-in to their roles as elected officials.

Nine people, including Mayor Chad Bachynski, took the oath for the first time in Regina. He said he looks forward to working collaboratively with all the new colleagues.

In Saskatoon, Cynthia Block became the first woman to take the oath as Mayor. She said, “I think that my specific orientation is ongoing,” Block said. “Our orientation as a council is extremely helpful for the new folks on council, but it’s also a really good refresher for the those who are returning on council.”

Provincially, MLAs took their roles in Regina ahead of the session scheduled to start on Monday. The Legilsative Assembly X account posted that “The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Iris Lang, has received the letter from the Chief Electoral Officer, Dr. Michael Boda, that certifies the election of 61 MLAs.”

The elections are over and the officials now begin the work they were elected to do.

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