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The Bloc Québécois has said that if the Liberals want to count on its support for confidence votes, the government needs to pass two pieces of legislation by Oct. 29. The two bills are Bill C-319, which seeks to amend the Old Age Security Act, and Bill C-282, which pertains to supply management.
Between the two bills, both private member’s bills, the party had previously been more vocal about Bill C-319.
The private member’s bill was introduced by Bloc MP Andréanne Larouche on March 8, 2023. Private member’s bills do not, as a normal matter of course, typically become law.
“For example, in 2018, among the population aged 65 to 74, more than three out of 10 Canadians had employment income. When we look at those aged 75 and older, it drops by more than half, for fewer than two out of 10 Canadians,” she said.
She added that Bill C-319 would require complex modifications to the existing IT system in a short time frame and that the platform for the payment of benefits was already in the middle of a modernization process. These factors make it “impossible” for the government to support the bill, Kusmierczyk said.
The Liberals have so far not disclosed whether they’ll support the bill now after Bloc announced its demands.
The Bloc’s Larouche told MPs that there would be “no room for compromise on this issue” and that her party would not accept any half-measures. “If the Liberals deny our request and insist on going against the will of their own members as expressed in committee, they will have some explaining to do during the election,” she said.