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Bloc Québécois
Leader: Gilles Duceppe
http://www.blocquebecois.org/So, what's this party all about? This Party Profile gives you all the info you need, from a description of the party to a summary of their policies. If you like what you see, visit their website for more information.
We assembled the content for this profile from the sources listed at the bottom of the page. If you notice any incorrect information or have any questions, please get in touch with us using our contact us form. We (heart) feedback.
The Bloc Québécois, led by Gilles Duceppe since 1997, falls to the left of the political spectrum. They tend to favour increasing the scope and funding of social programs, as well as government intervention in the economy. The Bloc is unique because it focuses entirely on the interests of Quebec, only runs candidates there, and supports sovereignty for the province.
The Bloc Québecois is a relatively young party: it was formed in 1991 by a mix of Liberal and Conservative MPs from Québec who were unhappy with the federal government’s treatment of the province. The Bloc's first leader was Lucien Bouchard, who had quit Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government as a protest over the Meech Lake Accord. The party has played a major in Parliament since then, forming the Official Opposition from 1993-1997 and holding the balance of power on several occasions.
Of the five major federal parties, the Bloc Québécois is the only one that does not run candidates across the country during elections. Instead, the Bloc focuses on representing the interests of Quebec in Parliament and often negotiates with the government to promote specific policies or legislation. The party also tends to support the provincial Parti Québécois, and Bloc leader Lucien Bouchard helped lead the "Yes" campaign during Quebec's 1995 referendum on independence.
The Policies and Priorities section was last updated in March, before the 2011 federal election was called. As you may know, candidates and parties make lots and lots (and lots) of promises during elections. So many, in fact, that we can't keep up with them. This Party Profile is a general summary. Get the most up-to-date platforms and information straight from the party's mouth here.
| Issue Area | Policy | Source |
| Accountability and Transparency | Introduce legislation to reform the Access to Information Act. | Platform 2010 |
| Ensure that independent institutions are protected from governmental partisan pressures and ideologies. | Platform 2010 | |
| Agriculture | Speed up the approval process for certain pesticides. | Platform 2010 |
| Keep track of research into coordination of approval norms between the members of NAFTA and OECD. | Platform 2010 | |
| Support the supply management system. | Platform 2010 | |
| Against all trade agreements (bilateral or multilateral) that threaten the supply management system. | Platform 2010 | |
| Calls for an AgriFlex program and the creation of new programs for federal government subsidized farmers. | Platform 2010 | |
| Extend the farm transfer rule to other immediate family members under 40, not just children and grandchildren. | Platform 2010 | |
| Create an agricultural transfer savings system. | Platform 2010 | |
| Relax the Home Buyers' Plan rules. | Platform 2010 | |
| Pressure the federal government to invest in the logging industry to help revitalize it. | Platform 2010 | |
| Demand that the federal government consider the requests of the agricultural industry with regards to research. | Platform 2010 | |
| Arts and Culture | Grant Quebec an exemption from applying federal multiculturalism policies. | Platform 2010 |
| Give Quebec control of broadcasting and telecommunication tools in the province | Platform 2010 | |
| Defend and promote Quebec's culture by supporting creators and artists. | Platform 2010 | |
| Introduce legislation for the recognition of a Quebec national film industry. | Platform 2010 | |
| Introduce legislation to allow artists' salaries to be averaged over five years for tax purposes. | Platform 2010 | |
| Make sure the new copyright law is fair. | Platform 2010 | |
| Increase the budget for the Canadian Council for the Arts to $300 million per year. | Platform 2010 | |
| Increase the Feature film fund by $50 million, $20 million of which would be for Quebec's film industry. | Platform 2010 | |
| Create a documentary film fund with $10 million of annual financing. | Platform 2010 | |
| Create a tax credit for productions filmed outside of urban areas. | Platform 2010 | |
| Respect all aspects of the UNESCO definitions of cultural diversity and cultural exception. | Platform 2010 | |
| Broadcasting and Telecommunications | Transfer control of telecommunications and radio in Quebec to the province. | Platform 2010 |
| Offer incentives to increase broadcasts and recognition of regional cultural works and new talent. | Platform 2010 | |
| Copyright Legislation | Change the copyright law. | Platform 2010 |
| Corporate Taxes and Subsidies | Propose that appeal be granted to pharmaceutical companies with patented products. | Platform 2010 |
| Promote job creation in small businesses. | Platform 2010 | |
| Introduce legislation to encourage local purchasing in federal government contracts. | Platform 2010 | |
| Crime and Justice | Force members of organized crime that are found to be guilty to prove that their assets were legally acquired. | Platform 2010 |
| Create a fund to allow Quebec and the other provinces to train Crown prosecutors for specifically street gang cases. | Platform 2010 | |
| Extend granted warrants for investigations in which tailing by GPS is necessary. | Platform 2010 | |
| Eliminate accelerated parole. | Platform 2010 | |
| Do not allow the release of prisoners after serving one sixth of their original sentence. | Platform 2010 | |
| Make clauses in the criminal code for the seizure of criminally obtained funds that include fraud of over $5,000. | ||
| Reorganize the police force to create specialized squads for financial crime. | Platform 2010 | |
| Review possible modifications to the Income Tax Law to help victims of fraud. | Platform 2010 | |
| Modify the Income Tax Law to stop the use of Tax havens. | Platform 2010 | |
| Request a larger budget for the National Strategy for Crime Prevention. | Platform 2010 | |
| Will not allow the federal Parliament to challenge Quebec's measures to the fight against adolescent criminality. | Platform 2010 | |
| Opposes the death penalty. | Platform 2010 | |
| Make criminal organisations like the Hell's Angels illegal. | Platform 2010 | |
| Make wearing gang-affiliated symbols illegal. | Platform 2010 | |
| Defence and National Security | Halt military spending increases until the government has a foreign and defense policy that justifies increases. | Platform 2008 |
| Make French the official language of the army in Quebec. | Platform 2008 | |
| Demand that all anti-terrorism measures respect the right to safety but also all other fundamental rights. | Platform 2010 | |
| Democratic Reform | Abolish the Senate. | Platform 2010 |
| Ensure that the nomination of judges by the federal government be based solely on merit. | Platform 2010 | |
| Opposesall federal measures aimed at lessening Quebec's political power. | Platform 2010 | |
| Ensure that the nomination of judges by the federal governmenrt be base solely on merit. | Platform 2010 | |
| Against all federal mesures aimed at lessening Québecs political power. | Platform 2010 | |
| Continue to monitor the federal government. | Platform 2010 | |
| Economy | Expand programs inspired by Technology Partnerships Canada in all fields. | Platform 2010 |
| Propose that appeal be granted to pharmaceutical companies with patented products. | Platform 2010 | |
| Initiate a program to support start-up businesses. | Platform 2010 | |
| Initiate a program to support jobs and investment in small businesses. | Platform 2010 | |
| Introduce legislation to encourage local purchases in government contracts. | Platform 2010 | |
| Demand a federal aeronautical program. | Platform 2010 | |
| Boost maritime industry as a whole, encourage naval construction, exports, and improve port infrastructures. | Platform 2010 | |
| Speed up the contract approval process for start up the Davie construction sites. Develop a maritime policy that ensures the livelihood of that industry. | Platform 2010 | |
| Include the exception for government purchases among EU members in any trade agreement between Canada and the EU. | Platform 2010 | |
| Education | Demand that the federal government reinstate transfers for social and educational programs. | Policy Statement 2008 |
| Environment | Create programs providing incentives for the use of alternative energy. | Platform 2010 |
| Introduce mandatory and free energy assessments and amendments to the building code to standardize thermal efficiency in older houses. | Platform 2010 | |
| Take steps towards large-scale adoption of the electric car. | Platform 2010 | |
| Invest in the infrastructure of public transportation. | Platform 2010 | |
| Encourage car pooling. | Platform 2010 | |
| Mandatory yearly inspections for all cars over 5 years old. | Platform 2010 | |
| First Nations and Northern Communities | Strengthen ties between Aboriginal peoples and the Québécois people. | Platform 2010 |
| Correct the inequalities that afect First Nations people. | Platform 2010 | |
| Demand that the government respect the treaties with the First Nations. | Platform 2010 | |
| Demande apologies from the government for the physical and psychological abuse endured by the First Nations in Residential Schools. | Platform 2010 | |
| Support the "10,000 possibilities" project. | Platform 2010 | |
| Ensure that there are adequate consultations before modifying laws that affect First Nations. | Platform 2010 | |
| Fiscal Policy | Against the unchecked increase of fedral debt. | Platform 2010 |
| Reduce bureaucratic spending in Ottawa. | Platform 2010 | |
| Impose an additional tax for those earning an income of more than $150,000. | Platform 2010 | |
| Establish a tax on non-monetary bonuses. | Platform 2010 | |
| Fisheries | Reform the Fishery Act and reconsider the price of fishing permits. | Platform 2010 |
| Food Safety | Demand that the government review the role of the ACIA. | Platform 2010 |
| Opposes allowing the food industry inspect their own products. | Platform 2010 | |
| Hire 1,000 new veterinary inspectors. | Platform 2010 | |
| Ensure that Quebec keeps the power of organic certification and study the consequences of harmonization certification with the US. | Platform 2010 | |
| Foreign Policy | Allow Quebec to maintain its own international relations and sign treaties which are specific to Quebec. Ottawa should ask for Quebec's consent before negotiating on its behalf. | Policy Statement 2008 |
| Opposes preventative wars. Only the UN can intervene to try and settle a conflict, and authorize an intervention. | Platform 2010 | |
| Supports unsanctioned interventions only if the UN cannot come to a decision and that populations are victims of serious war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. | Platform 2010 | |
| Gun Control | Supports the gun registry and eliminating fees, while eliminating the amnesty for those who don't comply. | Platform 2010 |
| Healthcare | Cover breastfeeding and pregnant workers under the Health and Work Safety Commission. | Platform 2010 |
| Prevent the federal government from interfering in Quebec's health jurisdictions. | Platform 2010 | |
| Raise payment transfers in health and education by $11 billion over three years. | Platform 2010 | |
| Demand compensation for Quebec in all Canada-wide health programs. | Platform 2010 | |
| Immigration | Give Québec the family reunification responsability. Speed up family reunification. | Platform 2010 |
| Grant entry visa requests more quickly for sponsoring cases ready to be authorized by Ottawa. | Platform 2010 | |
| Initiate an emergency plan in response to foreign humanitarian disasters. | Platform 2010 | |
| Make sure that partisan nominations do not affect impartiality in asylum-seeking cases. | Platform 2010 | |
| Create a mecanism that would allow immigrants from certain countries that have been in Canada for more than three years to have access to permanent resident status. | Platform 2010 | |
| Language Rights | Pressure the government to hire bilingual staff. | Platform 2010 |
| Make all federal institutions respect the French language. | Platform 2010 | |
| Defend the interests of Francophone and Acadian communities in Canada. | Platform 2010 | |
| Resubmit the law on the official language in Québec. | Platform 2010 | |
| Nuclear Energy | Will not permit nuclear waste produced outside of Quebec to be buried in the province. | Déchets nucléaires : un dossier trop sérieux pour rester secret |
| Personal Taxation | Have Quebec keep all revenue from income taxes collected in the province. | Platform 2010 |
| Poverty | Use public assistance for development to finance programs and initiatives to reduce poverty in Third World countries. | Projet de loi antipauvreté du Bloc Québécois : une question d'équité |
| Protect Quebec's family policies and demand that the government transfer the money it saves because of Quebec's policies. | Platform 2010 | |
| Quebec Sovereignty | Defend Quebec's interests in the House of Commons while promoting and preparing for the province's independence. | Platform 2010 |
| Rural Areas | Ensure that all regions of Quebec are able to attract and keep younger people. | Policy Statement 2008 |
| Science and Technology | Increase support for research and development of the electric car. | Platform 2010 |
| Demand that the federal governement consider the requests of the agricultural industry with regards to research for agriculture and food processing. | Platform 2010 | |
| Make the scientific research and development tax credit reimbursable on a trimestrial basis. | Platform 2010 | |
| Seal Hunt | Ensure unimpeded commercialization of seal products and the developpment of new markets. | Platform 2010 |
| Senior and Low-Income Citizens | Increase the guaranteed income support to the elderly by $110 per month. | Platform 2010 |
| Continue transfering the income support and the old age pension of deceased people to their spouses for six months. | Platform 2010 | |
| Automatically register people over 65 for guaranteed income support. | Platform 2010 | |
| Request full retroactive payment of income support guaranteed to seniors who were wronged. | Platform 2010 | |
| Urban Areas | Finance public transportation projects which will be managed by Quebec and the other provinces. | Policy Statement 2008 |
| Women's Rights | Introduce legislation to increase female representation in the House of Commons. | Platform 2010 |
| Defend a woman's right to choose an abortion. | Platform 2010 | |
| Introduce legislation for wage equality in sectors under federal jurisdiction. | Platform 2010 | |
NGOs
NGO - three letters you might have seen tossed around that seem to be doing something, but what? NGO stands for Non-Governmental Organisation, which means a non-profit group or association that acts outside of institutionalised political structures.
Bill Tracking Database
The Great Bill Tracking Database. Great resources on keeping track of Bills.
