Bloc Threatens to Push for Early Election If Gov’t Doesn’t Pass Two Bills by Oct. 29

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 19, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

The Bloc Québécois said the minority Liberal government needs to pass two of its private member’s bills before Oct. 29 to count on its support during confidence votes.

Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet has been saying for weeks he would seek to obtain gains from the Liberals after the NDP pulled out of its supply and confidence agreement in early September. The deal kept the minority Liberals in power in exchange for advancing NDP priorities.

Blanchet had previously mentioned a number of areas of interest, but on Sept. 25 he laid out specific conditions. Those include the passage of Bill C-319, to amend the Old Age Security Act, and Bill C-282, which pertains to supply management.

The Bloc leader said if these two bills are not passed by Oct. 29, his party will begin talks with other opposition parties to bring down the government.

“The fundamental reason of this approach is to literally take advantage of circumstances to make gains for Quebec,” he said, adding that those gains could also benefit people outside Quebec.

Blanchet said he chose the Oct. 29 date because he believes it provides enough runway to the government to steer the bills’ adoption. He also said it would give enough time to hold a snap election before Christmas.

With Bill C-319, the Bloc seeks to increase Old Age Security (OAS) pension by 10 percent for seniors aged 65 to 74, as the government had done for seniors over 75 in its 2021 budget.

Bill C-282 is a short piece of legislation which seeks to protect the supply management system in international trade agreements. Supply management applies to producers of dairy products, poultry, and eggs, and imposes production, price, and import controls.

In the meantime, the Bloc said it would vote against the Tory’s motion of non-confidence in the government. Tabled by Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, the motion will be put to vote on Sept. 25.

“A motion which from the get-go doesn’t bear any other topic than saying ‘I’m Pierre Poilievre, I would like to become Justin Trudeau,’ we'll never vote for that,” said Blanchet.

Poilievre’s motion before the House states: “The House has no confidence in the Prime Minister and the Government.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also previously said his party would vote against the motion. The Liberals need support from either the Bloc or the NDP to survive confidence votes.

The two bills the Bloc wants to push through are currently at different stages of review. Bill C-319, because it would have an impact on the budget, needs to obtain a royal recommendation from a cabinet minister to move forward.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer said that implementing the bill would cost taxpayers over $3 billion per year.

Bill C-319 has passed committee review and is currently at the report stage. It was placed on the projected order of business in the House of Commons on Sept. 25. Next steps include House concurrence in the committee report and then third reading before moving on to the Senate.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Bloc and the Government House Leader’s office for comment but didn’t hear back by publication time.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hasn’t committed to supporting C-319, but said on Sept. 24 he’s “always ready to talk about what more we can do for vulnerable seniors.”

Bill C-282 has advanced much further, having cleared the House in June 2023 and had its second reading in the Senate in April 2024. The next step is consideration before the Senate foreign affairs committee.