Blanchet ready for elections after Oct. 29 if two bills aren’t adopted

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OTTAWA — The Bloc Québécois has drawn its line in the sand. If the Liberals don’t pass two of its private member’s bills to increase support for seniors and protect supply management by Oct. 29, it says it will actively work to bring down the government.

“If it’s not passed, we’re going to talk to the other opposition (parties) with a view to bringing down the government,” Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said at a news conference on Parliament Hill Wednesday.

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“This is the demand in its entirety, it is irrevocable and non-negotiable,” Blanchet said, saying he will not support the government if it only meets one of his demands.

The Bloc was the first to announce last week that it would not support the Conservatives’ pending non-confidence motion in the House of Commons. MPs were set to vote on the motion after question period on Wednesday. The NDP has also said it won’t support the motion. A non-confidence vote would need support from all three opposition parties to succeed.

Blanchet argued that Oct. 29 is a reasonable timeline to achieve his party’s goals, but to also allow Canadians to vote in a federal election before the holiday season.

“I have no idea why he came up with the Oct. 29 deadline. Maybe he wants to scare people two days before Halloween,” said the NDP deputy Leader Alexandre Boulerice.

Boulerice said his party supported both bills but couldn’t understand why the Bloc would elaborate such a timeline.

“If Mr. Blanchet wants to paint himself in a corner, create his own timeline, draw red lines where he can get bogged down later, that’s not my problem. At the NDP, we’re going to judge individually what’s good for people,” Boulerice said.

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The Liberals, meanwhile, didn’t seem to want to engage in a spat with the Bloc. Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos said his government is “not going to be distracted by these political games” in the House of Commons.

“We’re going to invite everyone to focus on what is right for Canadians, while making sure that this government and this Parliament does its job, which is to do its four year mandate for which we have been elected,” said Duclos.

Bill C-319 seeks to increase pensions for seniors aged 65 to 74 by 10 per cent. The independent Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates the proposal could cost $16 billion over five years.

Bill C-282, intended to prevent federal governments in the future from negotiating adjustments to Canada’s dairy and poultry supply-management quota system in trade deals, has already passed the House and is awaiting review in the Senate.

“What we’re proposing is good for seniors in Quebec, but also for seniors in Canada. It’s good for poultry producers in Quebec, but also for poultry producers in Canada. It’s good for everyone,” Blanchet said.

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International Trade Minister Mary Ng said that the Liberal government has already supported the Bloc’s bill on supply management.

“We’ve been very clear that Canada’s supply managed sector is really, really important, and so that bill that has gone forward already,” she said.

As for the top-up for seniors, Government House leader Karina Gould said the government is looking into it but made no promises.

“I think we’ve done a lot for seniors as a government, but that’s something that is important for us to look at,” she said.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said this week she was having  “conversations” with the Bloc on the issue.

The Conservatives are already set to force another confidence vote in the coming days. Another opposition day motion, their second of the fall session, will be happening on Thursday and they have already signaled that they will attempt to bring down the government once again.

Gould accused the Conservatives, and leader Pierre Poilievre in particular, of “playing games.”

National Post

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