The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Gilles Duceppe, said he has no problem with his Repentigny byelection candidate's intentions, if elected, to abstain from voting on issues that run contrary to the Catholic doctrine.

Raymond Gravel, a Roman Catholic priest, is the Bloc candidate in Repentigny, long considered to be a sovereigntist stronghold.

Over the course of the byelection campaign, he has said he won't vote in the House of Commons on social issues, such as gay marriage and abortion, that could put him in a compromising position regarding his beliefs.

Duceppe, who was out campaigning in Repentigny Monday afternoon, said his MPs were allowed a free vote the last time gay marriage was discussed in the House of Commons, and he doesn't see any problems arising in the future.

"The question won't be, are you for or against gay marriage? It will be, are you supporting to reopen that debate. Sure, I think there are eight members of our party that were against same sex marriage last time. This time, they're against re-opening the debate. This is a another question."

Bloc MPs will be allowed to cast free votes on other moral issues as well, Duceppe said, adding that Gravel, as a priest and, potentially, a politician, is no different from longserving NDP MP Bill Blaikie, who is an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada.

Voters in Repentigny go to the polls on Nov. 27, to elect a new MP to replace Benoit Sauvageau, who died in a car crash in August.