Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said there were only days left for the Liberal government to secure support in the House of Commons by agreeing to protect supply management from some pension increases and concessions in trade talks. No, he said.
“The solution is very simple, so simple that I don’t know what else to explain,” Blanchet said Wednesday. “They know what we want and they know how to proceed with donations. Not just us, but everyone in Quebec and Canada who wants it. they know how to give it.
“They just need to move on or find another way out of this situation, but they know how we act.”
Prime Minister Blanchett gave the Liberals until October 29 to grant a “royal recommendation” to block bill C-319, which would increase Old Age Security (OAS) payments by 10% for seniors aged 65 to 74. The government will add OAS payments to seniors aged 75 and over in 2022.
The bloc needs a royal recommendation because private members’ bills cannot force the government to spend without cabinet approval.
Mr Blanchet also wants the government to support another bloc private member bill, C-282, which would exempt supply-managed farm sectors such as dairy, poultry and chickens from future trade negotiations.
Bill C-282 has passed the House of Commons and is currently being considered by a Senate committee, with some witnesses and senators appearing. drive hard.
Blanchett said if the government doesn’t meet the bloc’s demands by Oct. 29, his party will begin negotiations with the Conservatives and NDP to overthrow Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party estimates there is still time for the Liberals to “deliver on our demands.” Blanchett previously gave the Liberals an October 29 deadline to meet two conditions.
“Two Liberal senators oppose the principles of our bill, which was voted on by members of the House of Representatives,” Blanchett said.
“For those who want this to happen, that is unacceptable… because what we are seeing now is unelected people claiming they are above democracy. Because it is.”
Blanchett said he has no intention of rescinding the Oct. 29 deadline. “According to our calculations, there is still time to realize our demands,” he added.
OAS bill stalls in the House of Representatives
The OAS bill is currently in its final stages in the House of Commons, but all progress has stalled as MPs continue to debate the issue of privileges, which supersedes most other topics.
The debate stems from a House of Commons order requiring the government to produce unredacted documents related to misspent funds to hand over to the RCMP.
The Liberal government handed over some of the documents, but not all. Chair Greg Fergus recommended that the issue be referred to a committee to resolve.
Conservative House of Commons Leader Andrew Scheer rejected this, saying his party would continue to discuss the issue until the government submitted the remaining documents so they could be sent to the RCMP.
In a letter to the House of Commons law clerk in July, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duhem said police had reviewed documents in their possession regarding the case. now obsolete Sustainable Development and Technologies Canada provided funding and concluded that “no criminal activity or evidence of criminal activity has been identified at this time.”
The letter also states that the RCMP is unable to provide additional documents requested by the Conservatives, citing concerns that the additional documents “could be interpreted as circumventing normal investigative processes and Charter protections.” He also said he did not ask for it.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said both the Liberal and Conservative parties were “very happy” that the House of Commons was embroiled in a privileges dispute, adding: “They are trying to profit from the fact that the parliament is not functioning. Because it seems like it’s happening,” he said. The debate has been going on for more than a week, with each party accusing the other of paralyzing parliament.
Blanchet said Wednesday that the bloc would not support moving the debate over the document to committee until the Liberal government submits a royal recommendation.
“We have stated what we want to do to keep Parliament functioning properly. This is the royal recommendation on C-319,” Blanchett said.
“I think both the Liberals and the Conservatives, whatever they say, are pretty happy with the situation, because they seem to be benefiting from the fact that Parliament is not functioning.”
Blanchett said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is willing to negotiate a compromise to get the OAS bill through the House of Commons because the Trudeau government knows “what we want and are you going to give us it or not?” He said he had not spoken to the Liberal Party about the possibility.
Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Quebec’s deputy in the Liberal government, said Wednesday that Mr. Blanchet has not spoken to the Liberals about a possible OAS compromise, but others have.
“The bloc leader says he doesn’t want to talk to us anymore, but his members are talking to us,” Duclos said.
“We have had discussions and meetings with Bloc and NDP MPs over the past few days and continue to do so, including on the importance of supporting our more vulnerable seniors.”
