09:32 AM EST, 11/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The federal Liberals are seeking to temporarily take the federal sales tax off a slew of items just in time for Christmas, The Canadian Press is reporting Thursday. A senior government official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the announcement says the move would affect a number of items including toys, diapers, restaurant meals and beer and wine.

A last-minute cabinet meeting is underway virtually this morning to discuss the proposal, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland are set to announce the details later this morning in Toronto.

The promise will be a key part of the government's fall economic statement and if the Liberals can get the support of at least one other party in time, it will last from Dec. 15 until Feb. 15.

All of this comes after Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Canada's budgetary watchdog says Justin Trudeau's government has likely blown past a self-imposed fiscal guardrail, and is warning about the consequences of delaying the release of final spending and revenue numbers.

Thursday's report on the GSB break noted that move comes as an inflation-driven affordability crunch has left voters unhappy with the Liberal government, and comes a week after the NDP made a promise it would issue a permanent GST break for essential items if the party wins the next election.

It also comes as the government has been unable to move anything along in the House of Commons since late September as the Conservatives filibuster proceedings, demanding documents from the government or a pledge from the NDP to join them to defeat the Liberals and force an election.

NDP's leader Jagmeet Singh is taking credit for forcing the Liberals to take today's action, saying in a statement that the NDP won a "tax holiday" for Canadians.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally, and/or from other media sources. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)