If four new seats are to be added to the federal Parliament, at least one should go to Quebec, demands the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, who intends to include a “nation clause” in the future bill on the issue.
“The stake is not a seat. This is the weight of Quebec within this federation ”, specified Mr. Blanchet during a press briefing in Ottawa on Friday.
A week earlier, Elections Canada suggested a new redistribution for after 2024, in which the number of seats would drop from 338 to 342. Five new ridings would be created in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, depending on the increase. of their population. Quebec is the only province destined to lose a seat.
The proposal raised an outcry in Quebec during the week. The Legault government opposed the loss of a federal seat for Quebec, as did the Liberal leader Dominique Anglade, who wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to underline his opposition to this idea.
Prime Minister Trudeau commented on the matter on Thursday. “We are currently looking at this proposal submitted by Elections Canada,” he said. We’re going to have plenty of time to discuss it […] I can clearly hear the concern of many Canadians, including Quebeckers, about Elections Canada’s proposal, and we will continue to work on it. “
According to the leader of the Bloc Québécois, the reactions to the loss of a federal seat in Quebec were too “timid”. He does not want to be satisfied with not reducing the number of Quebec parliamentarians in Ottawa, but wants to increase their number if ever other provinces are also more represented. This, regardless of the fact that their population is growing faster than that of Quebec.
Given the recognition of the status of nation in Quebec by the Parliament, “it is excluded that the weight of Quebec within the federal Parliament does anything but increase”, slice Yves-François Blanchet.
He asks the other federal parties to give him their support in this project, and proposes to include a “nation clause” to be added to the legislative text of the planned redistribution. “We are entitled to a certain legitimate gluttony in terms of weight,” he illustrated.
The Bloc leader wants to take part in more in-depth discussions to study possible options, such as registering a maximum number of seats in the Commons so as not to constantly increase the number of members, as is the case in the Assembly Quebec National.
In Quebec City, Premier François Legault reiterated his government’s position on Friday, according to which the weight of the Quebec nation in the Commons cannot be lowered. “It’s a test for Justin Trudeau. Because it’s nice to recognize that Quebec is a nation. Now there must be [actions] », He meant.
With François Carabin