Bill C-78: An Act respecting temporary cost of living relief (affordability)

Tabled in the House of Commons, November 28, 2024

Explanatory Note

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Charter Considerations

The Minister of Justice has examined Bill C-78, An Act respecting temporary cost of living relief (affordability), for any inconsistency with the Charter pursuant to his obligation under section 4.1 of the Department of Justice Act. This review involved consideration of the objectives and features of the bill.

What follows is a non-exhaustive discussion of the ways in which Bill C-78 potentially engages the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter. It is presented to assist in informing the public and Parliamentary debate on the bill. It does not include an exhaustive description of the entire bill, but rather focuses on those elements relevant for the purposes of a Charter Statement.

The Bill would provide a tax break, set to begin on December 14, 2024, and to last until February 15, 2025, providing relief from the payment of the Goods and Servies Tax (GST) and the federal and provincial components of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on certain supplies, including food and beverages, children’s clothing and footwear, children’s diapers, restaurant meals, certain alcoholic beverages, certain children’s toys, certain printed books and newspapers, puzzles, as well as Christmas trees or similar decorative trees.

Section 15 of the Charter protects equality rights. It provides that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination, including on the basis of religion. Equality entails the promotion of a society in which all are secure in the knowledge that they are recognized at law as equally deserving of concern, respect, and consideration. The relief from payment of GST/HST on Christmas trees engages section 15 because it provides tax relief on purchases associated with a Christian holiday.

The following considerations support the consistency of this provision with section 15. Despite their association with Christmas, seasonal trees are also seen as a secular winter holiday adornment, commonly found in public spaces and non-religious settings, and are purchased by persons who are not of the Christian faith. In light of this, they are reasonably included in the GST/HST tax break, not as preferential treatment for one religion, but as a part of a suite of items that may be purchased by Canadians during the winter holiday period, which does not serve to perpetuate disadvantage.