Edmonton NDP MP says GST break is long overdue [Video]

Blake Desjarlais, NDP MP for Edmonton Griesbach, speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about the temporary GST pause and Randy Boissonnault resigning from cabinet over claims of Indigenous heritage.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Michael Higgins: Let’s start on the on this GST holiday, what’s your party’s perspective?

Blake Desjarlais: This is something we’ve actually tried to table before. Last year, we even tried to force a motion to get GST removed off of home heating. The two major parties voted against this.

We’ve tried many times, even Jack Layton, this is how old the promise of NDP parties trying to get tax relief for regular people is. We believe in tax fairness, we believe deeply that regular Albertans, regular Canadians, are taking on a larger tax burden than those at the very top in our country.

Those who are the very wealthiest are paying less and the history shows that ever since the 1980s we’ve seen those …