(Ottawa) The Bloc Québécois formally invites members of the House of Commons to express their desire to sever ties between Canada and the British monarchy.
Posted at 10:14 a.m.
The sovereigntist formation is taking advantage of its opposition day to table a motion to this effect, which will be debated on Tuesday and put to the vote on Wednesday.
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet believes that the time has come to decide on such a question, a month after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession to the throne of King Charles III.
“The deputies will be faced with a kind of sincerity test,” said Mr. Blanchet at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
The Bloc leader said he finds it incongruous that the Canadian head of state is a foreign king while being a religious leader, or leader of the Anglican Church. Admittedly, it is complicated to modify the Canadian Constitution to sever the monarchical links – it would require the unanimous support of the provinces, and the approval of the House of Commons and the Senate – but it remains an important subject, a- he argued. And he challenges the deputies of the other political parties.
“If we voted against the Bloc motion, that would mean that we are still the conquered subjects of the British crown, a conquest that took place in the 18e century. That would mean that they question the egalitarian values of the Bloc Québécois, would continue to support the British Empire of the XVIIIe century, which is about the most racist institution that we have known in the world,” said Mr. Blanchet.
The Bloc Québécois motion reads as follows: “That, given that (i) Canada is a democratic state, (ii) this House believes in the principle of the equality of all, the House expresses its desire to break the links between the Canadian state and the British monarchy, and asks the government to take the necessary steps to do so. »
According to the Bloc Québécois, maintaining the link with British royalty is expensive, around 67 million annually to finance the honorary ceremonies, the trips of the royal family, the remuneration of the Governor General and the lifetime pension for all former governors. generals and their surviving spouses.
In comparison, Quebec will inject $67 million over the next five years into the construction of social housing, argued the Bloc Québécois.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already indicated that his government has no intention of reopening the debate on the future of the monarchy in the country. He maintained that his government has higher priorities like controlling inflation and fighting climate change, among other things.