Latest news with #Yves-FrançoisBlanchet
Ottawa Citizen
4 days ago
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
The Bloc Québécois strikes again to protect supply management
Article content OTTAWA — First there was Bill C-216, then C-282, and now C-202. The Bloc Québécois has, once again, introduced a private member's bill aimed at ensuring 'full protection for supply management' in trade agreements. Article content Article content The text of the bill has not yet been released, but the objective that was underlined in previous bills was to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act to prevent the minister from 'making a commitment' that would increase the tariff rate quota for dairy, poultry, or eggs in trade negotiations. Article content Article content It would also prevent tariff reductions on these products when they are imported in excess. Article content Article content Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Bill C-202 was 'similar' and believes the House of Commons could agree very quickly to send it back to the Senate, where two influential senators effectively blocked its passage in the last Parliament using parliamentary procedures. Article content 'We can send it to the Senate before summer break. That's clear. Could the Senate dispose of it before the summer break? My optimism is more cautious,' Blanchet said. Article content Bill C-282 made headlines last fall when the Bloc threatened to bring down the government if it wasn't passed alongside another bill. It was ultimately passed by nearly 80 per cent of the House of Commons in June 2023, despite opposition from some Conservative MPs. Article content However, the Senate never passed it, thanks to Senators Peter Boehm and Peter Harder. Article content Article content 'I don't think it's in Canada's national interest to pass this bill because it divides the agricultural community … and it will impact future trade negotiations,' Sen. Peter Boehm said at the time. Neither senator commented Thursday. Article content At one point, the Bloc said it was facing 'hostility' in the upper house. Article content Supporters of the bill say it would protect farmers and local communities across the country, particularly in Quebec, while opponents argue it would tie the hands of Canadian negotiators in trade talks. Article content The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) is among its opponents, saying such a bill 'will hurt the 90 per cent of farmers who depend on trade.' Article content CAFTA's executive director Michael Harvey told the National Post that 'every time (the bill was introduced) it's been a bad idea' and 'it's still a bad idea.'
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
The Bloc Québécois strikes again to protect supply management
OTTAWA — First there was Bill C-216, then C-282, and now C-202. The Bloc Québécois has, once again, introduced a private member's bill aimed at ensuring 'full protection for supply management' in trade agreements. Article content Article content The text of the bill has not yet been released, but the objective that was underlined in previous bills was to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act to prevent the minister from 'making a commitment' that would increase the tariff rate quota for dairy, poultry, or eggs in trade negotiations. Article content Article content It would also prevent tariff reductions on these products when they are imported in excess. Article content Article content Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Bill C-202 was 'similar' and believes the House of Commons could agree very quickly to send it back to the Senate, where two influential senators effectively blocked its passage in the last Parliament using parliamentary procedures. Article content 'We can send it to the Senate before summer break. That's clear. Could the Senate dispose of it before the summer break? My optimism is more cautious,' Blanchet said. Article content Bill C-282 made headlines last fall when the Bloc threatened to bring down the government if it wasn't passed alongside another bill. It was ultimately passed by nearly 80 per cent of the House of Commons in June 2023, despite opposition from some Conservative MPs. Article content However, the Senate never passed it, thanks to Senators Peter Boehm and Peter Harder. Article content Article content 'I don't think it's in Canada's national interest to pass this bill because it divides the agricultural community … and it will impact future trade negotiations,' Sen. Peter Boehm said at the time. Neither senator commented Thursday. Article content At one point, the Bloc said it was facing 'hostility' in the upper house. Article content Supporters of the bill say it would protect farmers and local communities across the country, particularly in Quebec, while opponents argue it would tie the hands of Canadian negotiators in trade talks. Article content The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) is among its opponents, saying such a bill 'will hurt the 90 per cent of farmers who depend on trade.' Article content CAFTA's executive director Michael Harvey told the National Post that 'every time (the bill was introduced) it's been a bad idea' and 'it's still a bad idea.'
Calgary Herald
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Chris Selley: Central Canadians are practically goading Alberta to consider separation
Article content Of all the problems Canada faces in 2025, the prospect of Alberta sovereigntists winning a referendum and plunging the country into constitutional hell does not appear to be one of them. A Postmedia-Leger poll released last week, found just 29 per cent of Albertans supported the province 'becoming a country independent of Canada,' which is what the straightforward referendum question recently proposed by the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) would ask. That's even fewer than the 36 per cent of Quebecers who would vote Yes in their own sovereignty referendum, according to a Leger poll released before last month's federal election. Article content Article content But good grief, Central Canada could hardly be doing more to try to pump the APP's tires. Ironically, that includes some Quebec separatists. Article content Article content Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has offered support, in principle: 'I totally agree with provinces that stand up, that are loyal to their own parliament, that are capable of showing a strong hand,' he said earlier this month. This seems like the only logical strategic position for Quebec sovereigntists to take if — like the PQ, which is in pole position to win the next provincial election — they're actually planning on holding and winning a referendum and commencing divorce proceedings with Ottawa, the other provinces and First Nations. Article content Others in the Quebec sovereignty movement, however, haven't been able to resist broadcasting their contempt for Alberta. Legalities aside, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet averred earlier this month, a proper sovereignty-seeking entity 'has to have a culture of their own.' Article content Article content 'I am not certain that oil and gas qualifies to define a culture,' he added disdainfully. Article content Article content 'In Quebec, we have a nation, a language, a culture, a distinct history,' Marie-Anne Alepin, president of the arch-nationalist Société St-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, told The Canadian Press earlier this month. 'They want an oil-based future. We have no common goals. We're not alike.' Article content But in this respect, we're almost seeing a national-unity moment among Central Canadian elites — sovereigntist and federalist, Upper and Lower Canadian alike — with respect to Alberta.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chris Selley: Central Canadians are practically goading Alberta to consider separation
Of all the problems Canada faces in 2025, the prospect of Alberta sovereigntists winning a referendum and plunging the country into constitutional hell does not appear to be one of them. A Postmedia-Leger poll released last week, found just 29 per cent of Albertans supported the province 'becoming a country independent of Canada,' which is what the straightforward referendum question recently proposed by the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) would ask. That's even fewer than the 36 per cent of Quebecers who would vote Yes in their own sovereignty referendum, according to a Leger poll released before last month's federal election. But good grief, Central Canada could hardly be doing more to try to pump the APP's tires. Ironically, that includes some Quebec separatists. Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has offered support, in principle: 'I totally agree with provinces that stand up, that are loyal to their own parliament, that are capable of showing a strong hand,' he said earlier this month. This seems like the only logical strategic position for Quebec sovereigntists to take if — like the PQ, which is in pole position to win the next provincial election — they're actually planning on holding and winning a referendum and commencing divorce proceedings with Ottawa, the other provinces and First Nations. Others in the Quebec sovereignty movement, however, haven't been able to resist broadcasting their contempt for Alberta. Legalities aside, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet averred earlier this month, a proper sovereignty-seeking entity 'has to have a culture of their own.' 'I am not certain that oil and gas qualifies to define a culture,' he added disdainfully. 'In Quebec, we have a nation, a language, a culture, a distinct history,' Marie-Anne Alepin, president of the arch-nationalist Société St-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, told The Canadian Press earlier this month. 'They want an oil-based future. We have no common goals. We're not alike.' Alepin and Blanchet appear to be offside Quebec popular opinion on the oil-and-gas question: 61 per cent of Quebec respondents to a SOM poll for La Presse, conducted in February, said they supported resuscitating a liquified natural gas project in the province, and 59 per cent said they supported resuscitating the Energy East pipeline, which would have sent oil from Western Canada through Quebec to Irving's Canaport facility in Saint John, N.B. But in this respect, we're almost seeing a national-unity moment among Central Canadian elites — sovereigntist and federalist, Upper and Lower Canadian alike — with respect to Alberta. 'Perhaps it's time Alberta does go it alone and says goodbye to Canada,' a recent Toronto Star headline proposed. 'The province stands alone in its incurable sense of grievance with the rest of the federation,' columnist David Olive wrote — which is an altogether astonishing thing to say about a country that includes Quebec. 'Absent Alberta, Canada could confront Trumpism as a more united front,' Olive argued. 'And Canadian taxpayers would no longer have to subsidize Alberta's oilpatch, its increased housing supply, and its university research projects.' In February, the Star declined to run an idiotic editorial cartoon by Theo Moudakis that proposed Canada swap Alberta for California. But Moudakis posted it on X anyway, with 'Toronto Star' included in his signature. This mirrored Justin Trudeau's idiotic claimed remark to President Donald Trump that Canada might negotiate 'a trade for Vermont or California.' Joke or not, Trudeau didn't need to say what he was thinking of 'trading.' (California is very much in the oil-and-gas industry, incidentally. And Vermont has some of the looser gun laws in the United States. But facts have little purchase when anglophone Central Canadian nationalism — which is to say anti-Americanism — kicks in.) 'I can assure you. No Canadian passport, no citizenship, no pension, and no future if you want to leave Canada,' Senator Kristopher Wells wrote Monday in an extraordinary missive on social media. It has been a common topic of dumb online conversation: Could Albertans keep their Canadian citizenship, as the separatist camp promises? The answer is, of course they could. We allow dual citizenship. We don't revoke citizenship when people move away from Canada, even if it's forever. We grant citizenship to people who have never set foot on Canadian soil, and to anyone who's born on it — even if their parents are just here for a couple of weeks for that exact purpose. Dumb online conversation usually doesn't matter. But Wells is a Trudeau-appointed senator … for Alberta. Not only does Central Canada hate us, the separatists can argue, but the people Central Canada appoints to represent us hate us. These are precisely the sort of comments Quebec separatists try to leverage to convince Quebecers that the Rest of Canada hates them — except, of course, Central Canadian elites would never say such things about Quebecers. It hasn't worked for Quebec separatists. It doesn't seem to be working for Alberta separatists. But all this sneering could do an awful lot of damage to national unity along the way. National Post cselley@ Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Everything you need to know about the threat of Alberta separatism 'This is about the economy': What motivates Alberta separatists
Global News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Bloc Québécois to challenge Terrebonne election result in court
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook The Bloc Québécois will launch a legal challenge of the controversial election result in the federal riding of Terrebonne. Speaking in Ottawa Thursday morning, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party intends to contest the result. The Liberals initially won the riding but it flipped to the Bloc after the results were validated. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy A judicial recount later concluded the Liberals had won the riding by a single vote, and yesterday Elections Canada declared the result final. But Elections Canada admits that a misprint on an envelope used to mail a special ballot from Terrebonne led to one Bloc voter's mail-in ballot being returned to her. Despite the error, Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna said yesterday 'the result of the recount is final.' Story continues below advertisement This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.
