The payment will go to large swaths of Canadians, rather than targeting those in need, and serve to increase the already bloated deficit

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On Monday, Parliament unanimously voted to fast-track Bill C-19, the Carney government’s new package of affordability measures, which includes a 25 per cent increase to the GST rebate for five years starting in July, along with a one-time additional payment this year equal to 50 per cent of the normal payment.

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The government is right to focus on the rising cost of living — a recent poll found that 67 per cent of Canadians feel as though the cost of living “is the worst I can ever remember it being” — but simply rehashing the same strategy as the Trudeau government is not the right approach.

Each quarter, millions of Canadians receive a GST rebate — which the Carney government has renamed the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit — to offset how much they pay in federal sales taxes. To qualify for the payment, one must be at least 19 years old and........

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