Tories must dance to Bloc tune: Duceppe

Last Updated: Saturday, September 22, 2007 | 6:51 PM ET

CBC News

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe has outlined five "non-negotiable" conditions the federal government must accept if it wants his party's support for the Oct. 16 throne speech.

Getting Canadian troops out of Afghanistan is at the top of BQ Leader Gilles Duceppe's list of 'non-negotiable' conditions.
(Le Soleil-Carl Thériault/Canadian Press)

In a speech delivered to Bloc members in Rimouski, Que., on Saturday, Duceppe said he's seeking a clear commitment from the Conservatives that Canadian soldiers will leave Afghanistan when the mission ends in February 2009.

The Bloc's other conditions for supporting the throne speech kicking off a new session of Parliament call for:

• The elimination of all federal spending powers in provincial jurisdictions.
• The government to respect the Kyoto Protocol.
• The continuation of supply management in the agriculture sector.
• Promises to help Quebec's battered forestry industry.

Duceppe said he's ready to vote against the government's throne speech unless his demands are met, raising the possibility of a general election before the new year.

"We assume all the consequences," he said. "If it means an election, it means an election."

In his speech, Duceppe compared some of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's policies to those of U.S. President George Bush, and said the Conservatives' attempts to woo Quebecers are just a facade — that they really don't understand the province.

The Bloc leader's comments were made two days after Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, the Conservatives' Quebec lieutenant, told reporters that Duceppe is "not useful" in Ottawa.

Cannon also said Duceppe's party, founded to promote Quebec sovereignty, doesn't play a "vital role" and hasn't "delivered anything" for the province.

Liberal MP Denis Coderre suggested the Bloc's move showed they were panicking after last week's Quebec byelections. The Bloc lost a seat to the Conservatives, and had its lead reduced in another.

Election call could be up to Liberals, NDP 

The pressure will be on the Liberals or the NDP to support the Conservatives if they don't want the government to lose the vote on the throne speech.

The NDP has long been demanding the withdrawal of Canadian soldiers from Afghanistan. On Friday, NDP Leader Jack Layton said his party will wait to hear the throne speech before deciding how to vote, although both he and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion have previously said they won't support a Tory throne speech.

Since the Tories were elected in January 2006, the Bloc has helped the minority government survive three confidence votes, including two on federal budgets.

Current standings in the 308-seat Commons are: Conservatives 126; Liberals 96; Bloc 49, NDP 30; three Independents and four vacancies.