The Liberal government and NDP have agreed to introduce a two-month GST holiday on certain items ahead of the holiday season, Radio-Canada has learned.

The measure, to be announced Thursday, is part of a multibillion-dollar package designed to provide relief to families hit by rising prices. Ottawa also plans to send checks to some Canadians in the spring.

Sources said the federal government will announce the temporary GST relief on Thursday, which should come into effect before Christmas. A long list of items are targeted, including certain food products to which the federal tax applies, such as beer, wine and cooked hot meals.

Ottawa will also temporarily suspend sales taxes on diapers, children’s clothing and shoes, car seats and toys, among other items.

Radio-Canada and CBC News sources have also confirmed that the government intends to send individual checks to Canadians in certain income brackets in the spring.

Those two measures, expected to cost several billion dollars, will be contained in a single bill that the NDP intends to support in the House of Commons, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

On Wednesday night, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he would support the government’s GST proposal.

NDP to support affordable measures

“The NDP will vote for this measure because working people are desperate for relief, and we are proud that we delivered for them again,” he said in a statement.

Motions are expected to accompany the bill to ensure speedy passage and to lift, at least temporarily, the gridlock that has paralyzed the Commons for weeks.

The parties blame each other for tying up parliament in a privilege debate that began at the end of September. That debate stems from a House order that led the government to turn over unredacted documents related to a now-defunct foundation responsible for doling out hundreds of millions of federal dollars for green technology projects.

It is not yet known whether the relief measures will be part of the Liberal government’s autumn economic statement or whether they will be adopted and voted on separately.

A lifeline for the Liberals?

This one-time agreement between the two parties does not necessarily mean the NDP will support the Liberals’ economic statement in the fall. Sources said the New Democrats see it as a step in the right direction, but they have other demands.

If the financial statement includes new spending, it must automatically be subject to a confidence vote in the Commons, which has the potential to bring down the minority Liberal government. The Liberals must be supported by at least one other political party.

In September, the NDP pulled out of a deal it made with the Liberals to keep the minority government in power by supporting it on key votes like budgets.

With Thursday’s announcement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hopes to focus his priorities on the cost of living and create movement in opinion polls, which still place his party about 20 points behind Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

Trudeau has been hampered by problems in parliament. On Wednesday, Employment Secretary Randy Boissonnault resigned from the government due to controversies surrounding his business dealings and shifting claims about his indigeneity.

The NDP’s promises

Last week, the NDP pledged to go even further to improve Canadians’ purchasing power if elected. Singh said he would permanently abolish VAT on essentials such as grocery store meals and snacks, internet and mobile phone bills, nappies and children’s clothing, as well as home heating.

This measure would deprive the government of $5 billion in tax revenue each year, the NDP estimates, and would be offset by revenue from a tax on excessive corporate profits.

On Wednesday, Singh wrote to Canada’s prime minister asking them to follow suit by removing their provincial sales taxes on essential items.

SEE | The NDP leader promises to remove the GST from daily necessities:

The NDP leader promises to remove the GST from daily necessities

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he has written to Canada’s prime minister asking them to match his promise to remove the GST from daily necessities by doing the same with their provincial sales taxes.

The NDP will support the temporary measure proposed by the Liberals, even if it is deemed insufficient.

But Singh said on Wednesday evening that the party “will work hard to permanently scrap GST on daily necessities and monthly bills, as we have already promised.”