It’s meant to save Canadians money at a time when prices feel as if they won’t stop going up, but some Calgarians like James Duffy barely noticed a difference.
“No I never thought about it to be dead truth,” explained Duffy. “You just buy what you buy each week, and away you go.”
The list of newly GST exempt items is long, and sometimes confusing. For example, things like ski jackets are exempt, but not helmets, ski boots or goggles. As a result, those working at small businesses like Bailey Lahure at Calgary’s Ski West, there have been a handful of conversations educating customers.
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“There’s been a little bit of confusion between the customers and us as far as how they’re gonna get their discounts,” Lahure said. “It pretty much gets taken off immediately at the checkout if it is part of the program.”
Before the GST holiday came into effect, some business owners found the idea of figuring out what was exempt and what wasn’t a tall order. Thankfully for Lahure, it wasn’t too taxing.
But while the gesture of the federal government freezing the GST is appreciated by those who remembered it was happening; it still doesn’t address overall problems related to a high cost of living.
“I think for families, groceries are essential,” said Raj Dhillon who had just finished buying groceries with her daughter. “With kids, you need to buy what you need to buy, and… have good healthy food. But still — it adds up very fast when you’re at the checkout.”
The GST holiday remains in effect until February 14, 2025.
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Day one of the GST holiday goes mostly unnoticed by many Albertans
