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       Singh slams Liberals for giving $26M to Costco, Loblaw
        
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       NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is slamming the federal Liberals for giving
       nearly $26 million to Costco and Loblaw for energy-efficient
       appliances.
        
       The money came from the Liberal government's low-carbon economy fund,
       which is meant to support projects that will reduce greenhouse-gas
       emissions.
        
       In 2019, the Liberals faced heat from Conservatives after the
       government announced it was giving up to $12 million to Loblaw for
       energy-efficient refrigerators and freezers at 370 of its stores.
        
       Newly released data from Environment and Climate Change Canada show
       Costco was also given more than $15 million for efforts to reduce
       emissions, including new fridges.
        
       Loblaw was ultimately given more than $10 million.
        
       The payments were made to the two grocery chains between 2019 and
       2023.
        
       While people are deciding what they can afford in grocery aisles the
       Liberals are deciding how many millions of dollars to hand out to
       grocery giants, Singh said Wednesday.
        
       "Just stop giving millions of dollars of our public money to highly
       profitable companies," he said.
        
       "Stop giving million of dollars to a for-profit corporation instead of
       helping people who are struggling to afford food."
        
       The Opposition Conservatives accused Singh of faking outrage over the
       issue.
        
       The party argued that New Democrats are supporting subsidies going to
       corporations because they continue to prop up the minority Liberal
       government through a political pact.
        
       "It's shocking albeit unsurprising that Jagmeet Singh, the junior
       coalition partner in Justin Trudeau's costly Liberal-NDP majority
       government, provided tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to massive
       grocery chains that are making billions off Canadians while they are
       struggling to put food on the table," said Sebastian Skamski, a
       spokesperson for Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre.
        
       Facing questions in the House of Commons over the issue, Prime
       Minister Justin Trudeau lauded government initiatives that he said
       will help Canadians with affordability, including the national food
       lunch program announced in this year's federal budget.
        
       He also pointed to what the Liberals branded a "grocery rebate," a
       doubling of the GST tax credit for low-income families delivered last
       year.
        
       _This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2024._
        
        
        
        
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