Bloc leader says ultimatum stands after Liberals vote against motion seeking boost to seniors’ benefits

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet says his ultimatum to the government stands, after the Liberals voted against a motion seeking money to boost seniors’ benefits on Wednesday.

Blanchet has given the government until Oct. 29 to help enact a pair of bills or risk an election before the new year. Opting against taking a big step towards passing one of them prompted new questions about how soon the Liberals could lose a key dance partner in this unstable minority Parliament.

What the Bloc was seeking, through their only opposition day opportunity for months, was for the government to “take the necessary steps to ensure that a royal recommendation is granted as soon as possible” to a private member’s bill known as Bill C-319, which proposes a 10 per cent increase to Old Age Security (OAS) payouts for seniors ages 65 to 74.

The non-binding motion still passed by a vote of 181 to 143, with the support of the other opposition parties on Wednesday, but despite the majority backing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not be compelled to issue the financial authorization needed for the bill to be passable.

The bill is one of two Blanchet has put the government on notice over. Under parliamentary rules, because Bill C-319 seeks to spend public funds, a royal recommendation must be provided or the legislation will be deemed out of order.

Blanchet’s line in the sand was seeing significant progress on both Bill C-319, and Bill C-282 – seeking supply management protections in future trade talks— or he’d start negotiating with the Conservatives and NDP to bring down the government.

Now, Blanchet said if the Liberals think they’ll get any more time, they should think again.

“They have until a few days from now to go on with the royal recommendation. And if they do not, we will start as rapidly as next week to speak with other opposition parties in order to get ready to go into an election,” Blanchet said.

“What we saw today is not by itself a proof that it’s impossible. They could decide, notwithstanding the motion, to give the royal recommendation… So, let’s be fair with our commitment, even if it’s quite clear that it’s not good news and that electoral alert is a bit higher,” Blanchet went on to add.

The Bloc could have made this week’s motion a matter of confidence, but opted not to, with the party’s deputy House leader telling CTV’s Question Period over the weekend that there would be “no point,” while talks between the two parties were ongoing.

Asked where those talks stand now, Government House Leader Karina Gould wouldn’t rule out that the Liberals are still trying to find a path forward with the Bloc, in an interview on CTV News Channel’s Power Play on Wednesday.

“I don’t negotiate in public, and I don’t talk about those conversations, but I can say, and I think our government has demonstrated that when it comes to good ideas to support Canadians… We are there for Canadians,” she said. “We are open to good ideas.”

The Liberals confirmed their voting intention hours before the vote, expressing concern about the cost to the public purse, as well as the precedent it would set to approve billions in new spending through a private member’s bill.

“It is not appropriate for an opposition day motion to set the precedent of getting a royal recommendation this way,” Gould said, echoing comments made by Health Minister Mark Holland earlier in the day.

“There are still conversations that we need to have that puts this in the overall context of the other discussions we’re having. But doing it as a one-off for $16 billion on a private member’s bill, it’s the wrong mechanism,” Holland said. “I would think the Bloc would understand that.”

Other Liberal MPs and ministers pointed to the projected price tag of this OAS boost as the reason for their resistance while pointing out other measures the government has implemented to assist seniors.

In an interview with CTV’s Power Play last week, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said it may be “a bit tricky” for the federal government to meet its fiscal anchors if it acquiesces to the Bloc’s demand to expand the OAS.

Giroux calculates that demand would come with an annual price tag of more than $3 billion, with a total cost of $16.1 billion over five years.

“I think the question is, how we should be better supportive of our vulnerable seniors? There are seniors that are doing really well in our country, and that’s great for them,” said Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos on Wednesday.

“The question is, how do we use public resources to keep supporting seniors that really need and deserve our support?”

As they did Wednesday, the Conservatives, NDP, and Greens all voted in favour of the Bloc’s proposed changes to OAS during the bill’s second reading last October. The Liberals and one Independent MP were the only parliamentarians to vote against it.

“The big question is, can we afford it? And I think my understanding is the cost is really astronomical and prohibitive, and part of the government’s job is to make choices in terms of priorities, where you spend the money, and unfortunately, we don’t have enough money,” Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski said.

Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith expressed similar concerns. “Too expensive and poorly targeted,” he said on his way out of Wednesday’s Liberal caucus meeting.

“If anyone thinks right now, in today’s fiscal environment and with the needs we have for low-income people, people struggling to afford their rent, people struggling afford groceries, that it’s useful to spend a new taxpayer dollar, a taxpayer dollar we don’t have, on seniors who are making over $120,000, the Bloc should explain that logic to me,” he said, referencing the income thresholds for seniors required to be eligible for the monthly payments.

If the Liberals do lose the Bloc’s backing, they will only have the NDP to turn to for continued support as the Conservatives have already voted non-confidence twice in Trudeau since the fall sitting kicked off less than a month ago.

Speaking to reporters ahead of question period, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said that when it comes to future votes where his party may be the only dance partner left for the Liberals, his intention remains to go case-by-case.

“We’re in no current conversations with the Liberals. Based on every vote that comes before us, we will try to fight as hard as we can to get the most for people, but there are no negotiations or conversations… on anything specific,” Singh said.

Blanchet said it was “noticeable” that the NDP voted in favour of the Bloc motion, adding that “they could have, eventually, to assume the consequences of such a vote if we get to the next step without the government providing us, and Canadians, and Quebecers, with what we want.”

The NDP Leader will also have a turn to pick an opposition day motion and force the House of Commons to debate and vote on it, in the weeks ahead. Singh offered no hints Wednesday about whether he will use this opportunity to introduce a motion of non-confidence.

“Many things can happen,” Blanchet said, outlining the various scenarios – from the NDP continuing to prop up the Liberals, to Trudeau potentially proroguing Parliament – that could unfold as this sitting progresses.

With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk