If the Conservatives want to bring the Liberal government down over the carbon tax, they won’t have the help of the Bloc Québécois, one Quebec MP says.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been pressuring the other opposition parties to help him force a “carbon tax election” this fall. To do that, Poilievre would need both the NDP and the Bloc caucuses to vote for a non-confidence motion against the Liberals.
Bloc MP Martin Champoux told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics that the Bloc won’t support a non-confidence motion if it’s nothing more than a critique of the federal carbon tax.
It’s the first day back in the House of Commons for Parliamentarians and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he’ll put forward a non-confidence vote as soon as possible to trigger a federal election. Power & Politics hears from NDP House leader Peter Julian and Bloc heritage critic Martin Champoux on how their parties could respond.
“It would be serving the Conservative agenda and that’s not what the Bloc is here for,” Champoux told host David Cochrane.
“I don’t think the Bloc will support a motion from the Conservatives based on the carbon tax. Honestly, I think they’ll have to do better than that.”
The Bloc doesn’t consider the federal carbon tax a priority issue because the levy doesn’t apply in Quebec. The provincial government instead has implemented a cap-and-trade system.
MPs returned to the House of Commons on Monday with less certainty about how much longer the current parliamentary session will last.
Earlier this month, the NDP backed out of its governing agreement with the Liberals that was slated to last until next summer. The end of the deal makes an early election call more likely, although it’s not guaranteed.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters earlier Monday that he doesn’t expect the current parliamentary session to last much longer.
“We are playing chicken with four cars,” Blanchet said of the current dynamic in the House of Commons.
“Eventually, one will hit another one and there will be a wreckage. So I’m not certain that this session will last a very long time.”
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says he’s ‘not certain’ the fall sitting of the House will last, comparing upcoming non-confidence votes to a four-way game of chicken. He says the way his party votes depends on whether the Liberal government’s proposals are good for Quebec.
The Bloc has indicated that it views the end of the Liberal-NDP governing agreement as an opportunity to push its own priorities.
On Monday, Blanchet said he has a fairly straightforward approach to how his party will vote during the fall sitting.
“If it’s good for Quebec, we will be in favour of it. If it’s bad for Quebec, we will be against it,” he said.
One of the Bloc’s legislative priorities for the current sitting is Bill C-319, which aims to bring pensions for seniors aged 65 to 74 to the same level as those paid to seniors aged 75 and over.
The Bloc also wants Quebec to obtain more powers in immigration matters, particularly in the area of temporary foreign workers, and recoup money it says is owed to the province.
