Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet laid out a list of demands Wednesday he said the government must fulfil by the end of October if it wants to avoid the risk of an early election.
Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Blanchet said the Bloc wants the government to push through a bill, C-319, that would hike Old Age Security (OAS) payouts by 10 per cent for seniors between the ages of 65 and 74. The government topped up OAS payments for seniors aged 75 and older in 2022.
Blanchet also said he wants the government to agree to pass a Bloc private member’s bill, C-282, that exempts the supply-managed farm sectors — dairy, poultry and eggs — from any future trade negotiations.
He said those demands must be met by October 29. If they’re not, he said, the Bloc will start negotiations with the Conservatives and the NDP on toppling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
If the Liberals come through on those two priorities, Blanchet said, the Bloc won’t vote against the government before Christmas.
“What we are proposing is good for retired persons in Quebec but also in Canada. It’s good for milk, eggs and poultry producers in Quebec but also in Canada. That’s good for everybody,” Blanchet said.
Asked if the government has indicated it’s open to his demands, he said he’s not sure what its response will be yet.
“We have spoken to nobody about that. We have had no discussions,” he said.
It’s not clear how the government could meet those demands, given some parliamentary realities.
C-319, the OAS top-up bill, is up for a vote today but it’s not a final one because the legislation still has to pass through a Commons committee and the Senate before it can become law.
Because it directs the government to spend money, it would need a “royal recommendation” from the government before it could be enacted. In the normal course of business, all of that would take months to accomplish.
As for C-282 — which would tie the hands of future trade negotiators — the legislation is before a Senate committee. The government has little, if any, control over how long the Red Chamber takes to debate, amend or pass legislation through a committee.
That Senate committee is chaired by Ontario Sen. Peter Boehm, a former G7 sherpa who has previously expressed reservations about the legislation.