UPDATE – The Bill has now been passed by the Senate which means the Bill now becomes law.
OTTAWA, O.N. – The Federal Governments $82 billion aid package passed the House of Commons early Wednesday morning.
The Conservatives pushed back on Tuesday against the bill because it would give the government the ability to raise taxes, debt and spending without approval from Parliament up until January 1, 2022.
During all-day negotiations on Tuesday, that provision in the bill has now been removed.
The bill includes the following:
At a Tuesday morning news conference, Scheer said the Conservatives had no issue with the relief package promised by Trudeau last week. But they wouldn’t agree to give the government a blank cheque to spend and tax as it pleases for almost two years, as initially proposed in a draft of the bill.
“Any conversation about new government powers should not get in the way of passing this much-needed assistance,” he said. “Canadians are counting on us.”
The Senate will now review the bill. That started at 7 a.m. pacific time.
