Initial Thoughts
Everything I know about the Bloc is that they represent the interests of Quebec within Canada. In doing so, they don’t run outside of that province, and are certainly not in my riding. Yet they are in the leadership debates all the time. This may help someone else. Their website is in French, and I’m not great at reading that, so let’s go straight to the Party Platform.
Party Platform – Thanks CBC
Climate Change
The Bloc would respect Quebec’s opposition to pipelines and opposes any pipeline project passing through Quebec. The party wants to end support for offshore oil and gas exploration in marine protected areas. It suggests taxing the profits of oil and gas companies and reinvesting the sums into climate change adaptation initiatives. The party would introduce a border carbon adjustment mechanism to tax imports from countries that don’t have comparable carbon pricing. It would ask the federal government to increase its share of funding for the Canada-Quebec Nature Agreement fund from $100 million to $300 million.
Cost of Living
The party would introduce a bill to increase old age security payments for those aged 65 to 74 by 10 per cent and propose tax incentives for seniors who choose to remain in the workforce. It wants the child benefit adapted to blended families and based on the income of the parents who have custody. The Bloc would call for the GST credit to be doubled in quarters when the inflation rate exceeds the Bank of Canada’s target (between one and three per cent) and pay it out monthly. The party says it would restrict credit-card interest rates. It would push to cut the GST on all second-hand goods and require a single tax report, which Quebec would administer.
Defense
The Bloc wants Canada to hit the NATO goal of two per cent of GDP for military spending before the end of the next legislature. It would invest in Quebec technologies and prioritize partnerships with allies for procurement. It says the federal government should obtain the source code for F-35 fighter jets or end its contract. The party wants to strengthen sovereignty in the Arctic with the help of Quebec-based Davie Shipbuilding. The Bloc wants the federal government to support the creation of a global shipbuilding hub in the St. Lawrence Valley. The party would demand a review of the CBSA’s decision to reduce the operation hours of many border crossings in Quebec. It wants tougher penalties for border smugglers.
Foreign Policy
The Bloc supports Ukrainian sovereignty. It would allocate up to 0.7 per cent of Canada’s gross national income for foreign aid and prioritize supporting education, health, climate change adaptation and shrinking poverty. It would want Canada to contribute more to support international organizations, such as the World Health Organization, to compensate for the cuts of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. It would prioritize relationships with French-speaking nations, especially those in Africa.
Government Spending
The Bloc is against the federal government imposing conditions on transfers to provinces. It would ask the federal government to transfer oversight of the public dental care program to Quebec.
Housing
The Bloc wants the $1.2 billion from the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to be transferred to Quebec without conditions and integrate the funding to an existing program or use it for a new one that would better serve municipalities. The party is in favour of a GST rebate on new homes for first-time homebuyers and wants to eliminate the GST for services related to the purchase of a first home, such as building inspections.
Immigration
The Bloc wants Canada to reduce its immigration levels and distribute asylum seekers across provinces in a “fair” way. It would table a bill to improve the processing of asylum claims and grant additional powers to the immigration minister. It would tighten the eligibility criteria for claims made 14 days after a person irregularly crossed the border. The party wants to add an emergency component to the Immigration Ministry in order to help refugees during major crises.
Infrastructure
The Bloc supports a high-speed rail system that would connect Quebec City to Toronto. It is against the nuclear waste disposal project in Chalk River as well as an Energy East pipeline, which would impact Quebec ecosystems. The party wants the federal government to double funding for public transit and invest in the maintenance of public transit infrastructure currently in use, such as the Montreal Metro.
US Relations
The Bloc is calling for pandemic-style wage subsidies for workers impacted by tariffs. It would table a bill to protect supply management and Quebec farmers in future trade agreements. It would table a bill to guarantee local purchasing and reserve a percentage of Canadian content in public contracts and federal procurement, similar to the Buy American Act. It would maintain the digital service tax, which requires foreign and domestic large businesses to pay on certain revenue earned from engaging with online users in Canada if they meet certain conditions. The party would table a bill requiring the House of Commons to vote on a preliminary text of a free trade agreement before it is adopted.
I don’t know how the wage subsidies would actually work, but these guys unashamedly have no power outside of Quebec anyway. That is their undivided focus.