Bloc leader to push for early election after government doesn't pass pension hike bill
'We can say the government's days are numbered,' Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Tuesday he will work with the other opposition parties to bring down the Liberal government after Ottawa failed to deliver what he wanted: a pension hike for some and further protections for supply-managed farm sectors.
After the NDP pulled out of its deal to prop up the Liberals, Blanchet stepped into the mix, saying he would back the Liberals on non-confidence votes if it passed two Bloc private member's bills that hike Old Age Security payments for people between the ages of 65 and 74 and exempt dairy, poultry and eggs from future trade negotiations.
He gave the government a deadline of Oct. 29 to pass both bills into law.
Today's the day and the bills aren't law, so Blanchet is pushing ahead with an alternative plan: trying to topple this minority government.
"Depending on what the NDP will do, we can say the government's days are numbered," Blanchet told reporters, referring to the possibility that the NDP could stand with the Liberals again to prevent an election.
"The expiry date of this government has gone by and it's up to the people of Quebec and Canada to compose a new Parliament," Blanchet said in French. "The only agreement we need now is to send the Liberals to the showers."
Blanchet said he will vote against the government whenever there's another non-confidence vote. He also said there's an outside chance his party lends the Liberals some support if they do deliver on the pension hike and trade protections down the line.
But Blanchet said the Bloc is no longer negotiating with the government now that it has blown past the deadline. Instead, "we are negotiating with opposition parties in order to have the government fall," he said.
Asked about Blanchet's threat to vote down the government, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said "the lines of communication are open."
"We think it's important to continue to have an open door and an opportunity to talk," she said.
When asked if the Liberals are ready for an election, Freeland said, "Of course."
Public Services Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the Bloc's Oct. 29 deadline was "artificial" and the Liberals could still work with them to improve seniors' benefits.
But Duclos said the Bloc's OAS plan as originally written is likely a non-starter because it sends more generous payouts to wealthy seniors.
The chances of the government fulfilling the Bloc's demands in such a short time frame were always slim, given the Liberals have little control over the Senate, where the supply management bill is currently before committee.
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's changes to Senate appointments, the government has less, if any, influence over what the Senate does and when.
The House of Commons has also been paralyzed by a filibuster over the government's refusal to release documents related to a failed green technology scheme. MPs haven't done much of anything in the chamber for weeks.
Trudeau, his ministers and some Liberal MPs also voted against a Bloc motion that tried to force the government to apply a "royal recommendation" to the pension bill. Under Canada's parliamentary system, a private member's bill can't force the government to spend more money without the cabinet's approval.
The pension bill has raised serious questions about generational fairness given how much Ottawa spends on elderly benefits, which already constitute the largest and fastest-growing part of the federal budget.
The cost of elderly benefits is projected to rise from $80 billion this year to $100 billion annually by 2028-29 — a figure that doesn't take into account the Bloc's proposed 10 per cent pension hike.
But the Bloc defended the push for a pension increase, saying older people deserve a little more cash flow.
Blanchet also said it was "discriminatory" of the government to push through a 10 per cent hike to OAS for seniors 75 years and older while leaving younger seniors with no increase.
Blanchet said that because the Liberals haven't delivered on either proposal, "the government is in serious danger of falling."
"I'm ready for an election. I am absolutely ready to go to an election tomorrow," he said.
"You could say we're expecting that with enthusiasm."
Liberal government could still survive with NDP support
That makes two opposition leaders who are ready to go a vote.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has tried to bring down the government through three failed non-confidence votes so far this year, and he's ruled out supporting the government at all.
But the Bloc's decision to pull its support and align with the Conservatives against the government doesn't mean an election call is necessarily imminent. The Liberals could still hang on to power if the NDP gives them the support they need.
The Liberals hold 153 of the 338 seats in Parliament.
To get to a majority of 169 MPs without Conservative support, the Liberals need either the NDP (25 MPs) or the Bloc (33 MPs) to stand with them.
The Conservatives (119 MPs) and the Bloc voting together wouldn't be enough to bring down the government — the NDP also would have to come on side.
If the NDP abstains on a non-confidence vote, the situation could become much more tenuous for the Liberals.
A combination of Bloc (33 MPs), Conservative (119 MPs) and two anti-government Independent MPs (Alain Rayes and Kevin Vuong), with a total of 154 votes, could be enough to bring down the Liberals.
How the Greens' two MPs vote could also be relevant if the NDP were to abstain.
At least one of the disaffected Liberal MPs who's pushing for Trudeau to go, Newfoundland's Ken McDonald, has also floated voting against the government on a non-confidence vote if it doesn't make major changes.
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