Grocery rebate bill receives royal assent

Eligible Canadians will receive the federal government’s one-time increase to the GST credit, known as the “grocery rebate,” on July 5.

Bill C-46, the Cost of Living Act, No. 3, which includes the legislation to provide the cost-of-living relief proposed in the 2023 budget, received royal assent on Thursday.

Low- and modest-income earners will receive up to an additional $467 for eligible couples with two children; up to an extra $234 for single Canadians without children; and an extra $225 for seniors, on average.

Recipients won’t need to apply for the rebate, which will be sent out by the Canada Revenue Agency along with the regular July GST credit payment, but they will need to have filed their 2021 tax returns if they haven’t already done so to receive the payment.

In the budget document, the federal government indicated that the rebate would provide $2.5 billion in targeted inflation relief for 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians and families.

The federal government’s second budget implementation bill, Bill C-47, is currently in second reading in the House of Commons. That bill includes proposed changes to RESP and RDSP rules and would give the government leeway to increase the CDIC deposit insurance limit.

Rudy Mezzetta

Rudy is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on tax, estate planning, industry news and more since 2005. Reach him at rudy@newcom.ca.