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Controversial question in English debate may have galvanized Bloc voters – CBC.ca

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At a bowling alley in Montreal’s east end on a weekday afternoon, Réal Desrochers is playing in his weekly league and also considering his choices in next week’s federal election.

Desrochers had been planning to vote Liberal, but a key moment in last Thursday’s English-language leaders’ debate galvanized identity sentiments in Quebec and spurred him to change his mind and choose the Bloc Québécois led by Yves-François Blanchet. 

“For me, it’s because the Bloc will balance the situation in Ottawa,” Desrochers said. “I know he won’t form a government, but he will defend Quebec [in Parliament].” 

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Desrochers called the moment “a direct attack on Quebec, and I don’t like it.”

Réal Desrochers says he was planning to vote Liberal this election but changed his mind and decided to vote for the Bloc Québécois after the English debate. (Alison Northcott/CBC)

Last Thursday, at the beginning of the English leaders’ debate, moderator Shachi Kurl asked Blanchet why he supported bills 21 and 96 — respectively, Quebec’s secularism law and its proposed new law to protect the French language.

“You denied that Quebec has problems with racism yet you defend legislation such as bills 96 and 21, which marginalize religious minorities, anglophones and allophones,” asked Kurl.

“Quebec is recognized as a distinct society, but for those outside the province, please help them understand why your party also supports these discriminatory laws.”

Blanchet shot back, saying, “The question seems to imply the answer you want.”

“Those laws are not about discrimination. They are about the values of Quebec,” he said. 

WATCH | Quebec premier criticizes debate question on secularism law:

Legault slams ‘ridiculous’ question on Quebec secularism, language laws during federal debate

6 days ago

Quebec Premier François Legault slammed a controversial question posed to Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet on the province’s secularism and language laws during last night’s English federal election debate 0:51 

The exchange had the effect of reviving an old wound, leaving Quebecers feeling disrespected and misunderstood by the rest of Canada, according to several experts interviewed by CBC.

It created a situation in which a debate that is typically almost ignored in Quebec may have changed the game for the federal election on the ground.

A bounce for the Bloc

The Bloc Québécois has risen from its slump in the polls back to a level of popularity similar to what it enjoyed during the 2019 election, in which it experienced a dramatic comeback, winning 32 seats after being reduced to 10 in the previous election.

According to a Léger poll published earlier this week, the party went from 27 per cent to 30 per cent of voter support in the province after the English debate.

“It ignited Quebec’s identity sentiments,” said Guy Lachapelle, a political science professor at Concordia University in Montreal. 

“Quebecers are sick of Quebec-bashing in general.… I think there is a misunderstanding of the major issues and debates in Quebec.”

WATCH | Quebec columnists explain why the English debate angered some Quebecers:

How did Quebec react to the English federal leaders’ debate?

5 days ago

Yves Boisvert, columnist at La Presse and Emilie Nicolas, columnist with Le Devoir join Power & Politics to discuss the English federal leaders’ debate. 4:42

Lachapelle doubts the increase in Bloc support will make a huge difference in which party ends up forming a government, though it minimizes the Liberals’ and Conservatives’ already slim chances of forming a majority and reduces the NDP’s chances of making gains in the province to almost nil. 

For Christian Bourque, executive vice-president at Léger, though, that small bounce — accompanied by the Liberals surpassing the Conservatives in the polls this week despite an endorsement of Erin O’Toole by Premier François Legault  — could lead to surprises Monday night. 

“We’re all in these sort of dominoes because the race is so tight,” Bourque said.

There are about 15 three-way races between the Bloc, Liberals and Conservatives, he said.

“Since 2011, Quebec is, around Canada, probably the region where we have the most strategic voters, who will change alliance depending on how they feel the race is going,” Bourque said.

Montrealer Lise Thériault says she decided to switch her vote from NDP to Bloc Québécois after the English-language leaders’ debate. (CBC)

Lise Thériault says she has voted for the NDP since the so-called orange wave in 2011, but this time, she went to an advance poll to vote for the Bloc the day after the English debate. 

“Telling me, at 70 years old, that I’m a racist because I want to be proud of my French language? Non, ça marche pas ça. It doesn’t work,” Thériault said, switching easily between English and French.

“I was insulted, and Monsieur Blanchet did a good job. I’m behind him 100 per cent.”

Lachapelle says many Quebecers had a similar reaction. He, too, thinks English-speaking Canadians are misinformed about the nuances of Quebec issues.

“We typically have a pretty good idea of what’s happening in other provinces in Quebec, but the reverse is not always true,” he said.

Shophika Vaithyanathasarma is the Bloc Québécois candidate in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, a riding that has been held by NDP candidate Alexandre Boulerice for 10 years. (CBC)

Thériault lives in the Montreal riding of Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, the NDP’s last seat in the province, held by incumbent Alexandre Boulerice for the past 10 years. She said that this year, she was proud to vote for the Bloc’s 21-year-old candidate, Shophika Vaithyanathasarma. 

In an interview with CBC this week, Vaithyanathasarma said her own feelings about Bill 21 are complicated. 

She supports the bill but is concerned that there is not enough diversity of candidates and politicians who are part of the conversation about it. 

“That’s one of the reasons I’m involving myself in politics: none of the people who are talking about the bill are racialized,” Vaithyanathasarma said. “I seriously think we have to listen to the citizens that are concerned.”

Vaithyanathasarma, whose parents immigrated from Sri Lanka, says minorities should not be excluded from the discussion. 

“That is one of the biggest mistakes we could make,” she said, smiling.

Mireille Paquet, who holds the research chair on the politics of immigration at Concordia University, told As It Happens the question served Blanchet because “it allowed for Blanchet to speak as if he was representing all of Quebecers, and as if Quebecers were all united around these pieces of legislation.”

Premier Legault’s controversial gambit

The conversation about the debate has overshadowed another significant development in the federal race in the province.

Hours before the English debate, Legault took a public stance against Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, saying Quebecers should “beware of three parties: the Liberal Party, the NDP and the Green Party.”

Legault was irked by those parties’ intentions to intervene in health-care matters, which are under provincial jurisdiction, and said, “For the Quebec nation, Mr. O’Toole’s approach is a good one.” 

WATCH | Liberals react to Legault’s endorsement of O’Toole:

Liberals fight back after Legault’s Conservative endorsement

3 days ago

The Liberal party is fighting back in Quebec following Premier Francois Legault’s endorsement of a Conservative government, including speaking out against the controversial Bill C21. 2:33

But Lachapelle, the Concordia professor, says Legault’s endorsement could backfire. Many Quebecers have grumbled about being told who to vote for. The Conservatives have lost some ground in Quebec since the endorsement and are now polling at 18.4 per cent, according to 338Canada founder Philippe Fournier. 

The voters of Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec party are generally split between voting Bloc, Liberal and Conservative at the federal level. Legault’s gamble may have alienated a good portion of them, Lachappelle said. 

“Legault risks losing a certain amount of his base, especially if the Conservatives win and don’t deliver [on their promises to Quebec].”

Still, as the dust settles following the debate and its controversy, the polls suggest that Quebecers may end up voting along the same lines as they did in 2019.

“I’m under the impression we’re going to have a similar result as the last election,” he said.

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Ukraine news: Canadian commander of volunteer group dies

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A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade – a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine – has died.

The news was first circulated through online chatrooms and social media posts and later shared by Russian state-owned outlet Sputnik.

Jean-Francois Ratelle, 36, was also known by the call sign “Hrulf.”

Global Affairs Canada said it is aware that a Canadian has died in Ukraine, but would not provide his name, nor the cause of death.

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“Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones at this very difficult time,” wrote spokesperson Grantly Franklin. “Consular officials are in contact with local authorities for further information and are providing consular assistance to the family.”

 

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Brian Mulroney's sons thank Canadians, politicians for outpouring of support – CBC.ca

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Former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s three sons thanked Canadians and federal political leaders for the outpouring of support they’ve received since their father’s death late last month.

Ben, Mark and Nicholas Mulroney spoke briefly to reporters after the House of Commons officially commemorated the life and legacy of the late Conservative stalwart. Their sister Caroline and mother Mila joined them in the gallery for the speeches that paid tribute to the man Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called “one of the lions of Canadian politics” 

Mark said listening in reminded them of what their father loved about politics.

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“And for us sitting up in the gallery, hearing everybody speak so positively — probably not what he was used to — but he would have loved it and we did as well,” he said with a laugh.

“He enjoyed every minute of the back and forth parliamentary process, the debate. And seeing it today, seeing how it was, we obviously understand what drew him here, but what also he loved about it.”

WATCH | Brian Mulroney’s sons react to MPs’ tributes to their father 

Brian Mulroney’s sons react to MPs’ tributes to their father

2 hours ago

Duration 1:34

Ben, Mark and Nicolas Mulroney say they are thankful for the tributes to their father in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon all honoured former prime minister Brian Mulroney with speeches on Monday.

Nicholas Mulroney, who was born during his father’s time at 24 Sussex, said it was “incredibly humbling” to hear from friends and former foes.

“Being the youngest member of the family, this is certainly not something I grew up used to and especially for the grandkids, they get to see and experience something so special,” he said.

“We’re truly honoured from people across the country and internationally that have taken the time to reach out to say nice things and words of support. I just want to thank everybody on behalf of the family.”

The family was in Ottawa for the start of a week of remembrance, culminating in the state funeral in Montreal on Saturday. 

When Mulroney died on Feb. 29 at the age of 84, the House of Commons suspended operations before going on a pre-planned two-week break.

MPs returned Monday on a sombre note as leaders and MPs rose to pay tribute to Canada’s 18th prime minister.

Trudeau reminisced about one of his last encounters with Mulroney at his alma mater, St. Francis Xavier University, when they toured Mulroney Hall last year.

WATCH | Party leaders pay tribute to Brian Mulroney 

Party leaders pay tribute to Brian Mulroney

2 hours ago

Duration 3:49

Federal party leaders stood in the House of Commons Monday to honour the legacy of former prime minister Brian Mulroney ahead of the state funeral, to be held on Saturday.

Trudeau said that as they walked together through a replica of the prime minister’s Centre Block office, they reflected on the “wisdom that he and my dad both shared, that leadership, fundamentally, is about getting the big things right, no matter what your political stripe or your style.”

“He wouldn’t let himself succumb to temporary pressure. He was motivated by service. And those things, those big things, have stood the test of history four decades and counting,” he said.

Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives governed Canada from 1984 to 1993. He won two majority governments and steered Canada through several consequential policy decision points, including free trade with the United States, the end of the Cold War and the introduction of the GST.

“He had the wisdom to understand that the best way to fight back was to embrace our friends,” said Trudeau, who leaned on Mulroney when free trade negotiations were reopened with the Donald Trump administration.

“Brian Mulroney’s principles helped shape this nation, and the world, for the better, and we will all continue that work.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre opened his remarks by describing Mulroney’s humble origin as the son of a paper mill electrician in the forestry town of Baie-Comeau, Que.

“I was just becoming aware there was such a thing as prime minister when he had that job. And like millions of young people from similar backgrounds, we looked to him and said — if the Irish son of a working-class electrician from a mill town can rise to become prime minister, then in this country, anyone from anywhere can do anything,” Poilievre said to general applause.

Mulroney family members take part in a moment of silence prior to tributes to the late prime minister Brian Mulroney in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, March 18, 2024.
Mulroney family members take part in a moment of silence prior to tributes to the late prime minister Brian Mulroney in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, March 18, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

He also spoke of Mulroney’s famous personal touch, telling a story about meeting a mechanic in Ottawa whose father was a miner with the Iron Ore Company of Canada, when Mulroney served as its president.

Poilievre said that decades later, when the mechanic’s father died, Mulroney called the family, 

“That is kindness. That is humility,” he said

Poilievre said Mulroney elevated phone conversations to “an art form.”

“Using the telephone the way Michelangelo may have used a chisel or a brush, he would do it to make business deals, charm foreign leaders, and more importantly to comfort grieving or suffering friends,” said Poilievre.

“He would console, joke, or even throw in the odd curse about the unfairness of it all and his friends’ turmoil melted into the astonishment that one of the country’s greatest prime ministers had offered love and laughter.”

‘He can charm the birds out of the trees’: May

One of the people who received one of those phone calls was Elizabeth May, who worked as a policy adviser to Mulroney’s environment minister before becoming leader of the federal Green Party.

“I’d love to tell you what he said … he’s so darn funny, but I really can’t repeat it,” she told the House.

“There’s no real way to explain how he can charm the birds out of the trees. He sure as heck could.”

She praised the former prime minister for ushering in one of the world’s most successful environmental treaties, the Montreal Protocol.

“Brian Mulroney quite literally saved all life on earth when Canada stood up and launched the Montreal Protocol and saved the ozone layer,” she said.

“Let us continue to try to meet that example of a good-hearted, kind-spirited, generous and brilliant Canadian.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also applauded the former Progressive Conservative leader’s environmental record, his campaign against racial apartheid in South Africa and his respect for the role of journalists.

“Prime Minister Mulroney will be remembered as someone who took big chances while he was in office,” he said. “While there are great many issues, of course, he and I would not agree on, I want to acknowledge the legacy he leaves behind after a long career of dedicated public service.

“At a time of more heightened divisions, where some political leaders try to score points by pitting one group of people against another, Mr. Mulroney will be remembered as someone who tried to build unity.”

Bloc Quebecois MP Louis Plamondon, who was elected as an MP in Mulroney’s party the year he became prime minister, said he will be remembered as a great Canadian and a great Quebecer.

“He loved Mila, his wife and lifelong companion. He was so proud of his children and he cherished his role as a grandfather,” he said in French.

State funeral this Saturday 

Mulroney will lie in state on Tuesday and Wednesday in Ottawa near Parliament Hill. Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and Trudeau are set to offer condolences to the Mulroney family Tuesday morning.

His casket will then travel to Montreal ahead of the state funeral at St. Patrick’s Basilica on Saturday. 

His daughter Caroline, longtime friend and colleague Jean Charest and hockey star Wayne Gretzky will deliver the eulogies.

The funeral ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. ET and is expected to last two hours.

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An NDP motion puts a big question to the test: Will Canada recognize Palestinian statehood?

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An opposition day motion brought forward by the NDP’s foreign affairs critic Monday could set the cat among the pigeons in the federal Liberal caucus.

The non-binding motion calls on the government to take a number of actions in response to the war in the Middle East, including that it should “officially recognize the State of Palestine.”

The motion was sponsored by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh with the party’s foreign affairs critic, Heather McPherson, acting as the point person.

“We wrote this in a way that it’s not supposed to be a ‘gotcha’ motion,” she said.

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“This was supposed to be a motion that aligned with international law, aligns with Canadian policy. So we’re hopeful that we will have some support from the Liberals and we’re certainly seeing more movement from them over the last few days.”

‘I expect there will be a split:’ Liberal MP

But the motion is also expected to divide the government caucus.

“It’s not the perfect motion by any means, and no motion is. But when you look at the broad strokes of it, this is a push to support human rights,” said Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who told CBC News that he will back it despite reservations.

“And I think it emphasizes Canada’s role in this, which is to focus on and preserve human rights and peace.”

A politician holding a piece of paper.
NDP Member of Parliament for Edmonton—Strathcona Heather McPherson is shown in the House of Commons on April 27, 2022. She is acting as point person on the opposition day motion. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Erskine-Smith, MP for the Toronto riding of Beaches—East York, says he has heard a wide range of views from his constituents on the topic, but “my inbox is full of people saying, ‘We want the violence to end, we want civilians to be protected, we don’t want to see more casualties. We don’t want to see more kids die. And Canada has to do more to end the violence.'”

Erskine-Smith also knows that his view is not shared by everyone in his party.

“I expect there will be a split,” he said. “I think the government position will obviously matter a great deal to my colleagues.”

‘A huge slap in the face:’ Housefather

One Liberal who definitely intends to oppose the motion is Montreal’s Anthony Housefather.

“It’s incredibly meaningful in the sense that this would be a huge slap in the face to the vast majority of Canada’s Jewish community,” he told CBC News.

Housefather, MP for Mount Royal, says he objects to clauses in the motion that call for an immediate ceasefire, and for the suspension of all sales of military equipment to Israel.

He called it an “anti-Israel motion.”

“Because it’s a motion that essentially rewards Hamas for attacking Israel,” Housefather said.

“It changes 50 years of consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments positions on the recognition of a Palestinian state to move away from the fact that it’s something that would have to be negotiated by the parties where they agree on a territory and normally do recognize the state.”

A man wearing a suit speaks in front of microphones.
Liberal Member of Parliament Anthony Housefather talks to reporters as he arrives to a caucus meeting in Ottawa on Nov. 8. He has hinted that he may leave the Liberal caucus if cabinet members back Palestinian statehood. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Housefather pointed out that no G7 country has yet recognized Palestinian statehood; Canada would be the first.

Indeed, a map of the world shows a stark North-South and East-West split on recognition. Of the UN’s 193 member states, 139 have recognized Palestine, including almost every country in South and Central America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe (mostly from their time in the Soviet Bloc).

Trudeau’s eight years in office have produced a more uniformly anti-Palestinian UN voting record than even his famously pro-Israel predecessor Stephen Harper, but there have been some recent adjustments.

Starting in 2019, the Trudeau government began to vote in favour of an annual motion supporting Palestinian self-determination, although the prime minister has played down the significance of the change in comments to the Jewish community.

The Trudeau government has also sought to prevent Palestine from advancing its case for statehood through the courts.

Three different Liberal foreign ministers have written to the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court asking it to refuse to hear Palestinian cases, partly on the grounds that Israel does not recognize the court.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has personally written to Trudeau to ask for those Canadian interventions on behalf of Israel.

When the International Court of Justice met last month to consider the “legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,” the Trudeau government’s submission again asked it to refuse to hear the case on the grounds that Israel did not recognize the court’s jurisdiction, and that those matters were best left to negotiations between the parties.

The argument is not if, but when

McPherson says that Canada’s official position that there should not be movement toward recognition until after final-status talks between the two parties is “an excuse.”

“This is a moment in time where we need to come up with a better solution for peace in the Middle East,” she said.

Housefather says he agrees that “the two-state solution is absolutely necessary.”

But “this is not the time to recognize a Palestinian state suddenly in contradiction to what our policy has been for decades. Because what this would do is say the policy has changed,” he said.

“Why has the policy changed? Because Hamas started a war. And so I would be aghast, aghast if Canada changed its position as a result.”

McPherson disagrees.

“I don’t believe that stopping killing children, the end of the bloodshed, the end of starvation, getting humanitarian aid to innocent people, getting the conflict to stop so that we are, we are able to move toward something that’s more peaceful and just for Israelis and Palestinians, I don’t think that’s rewarding Hamas,” she said.

US, UK, France all inch toward recognition

Canada is not the only country where the idea of unilateral recognition of Palestine, without waiting for Israel, has gained ground since the war in Gaza began.

The Biden administration, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron and French President Emmanuel Macron have all sent signals that they are moving in that direction.

Last month the Biden official leaked the news that it was not just thinking about recognition, but actively drawing up plans for recognition to go into effect once the war in Gaza ends.

That came just days after Cameron, a former prime minister, said British recognition of Palestine “can’t come at the start of the process, but it doesn’t have to be the very end of the process.”

Last month France’s Emmanuel Macron said his country had come to the same conclusion.

“Recognizing a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France,” Macron said after meeting in Paris with Jordan’s King Abdullah.

“We owe it to Palestinians, whose aspirations have been trampled on for too long. We owe it to Israelis, who lived through the worst antisemitic massacre of our time.”

Warnings of red lines

Some of the measures the motion calls for have already happened. For example, it calls on the government to “immediately reinstate funding and ensure long-term continued funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and support the independent investigation.”

Canada restored funding to UNRWA on March 8, and has said it will support the investigations by both the UN’s investigative office and by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.

The motion also calls on the government to “support the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court,” which the government has said it will do.

Housefather says he knows some of his caucus colleagues will support Monday’s motion, but he’s less concerned with how backbenchers vote than members of cabinet.

“I will be actively watching what the government position is on Monday, how the vote goes. And I will obviously, as I continue to do, speak out in terms of what I believe is right,” he said.

Housefather hinted that he might not remain in caucus if cabinet members backed recognition.

McPherson says she is hoping for a win but knows the vote faces an uphill climb.

“We’re working as hard as we can to convince folks that this is the right path forward, that this is a fundamental shift in our foreign policy in the right direction,” she said.

It’s not clear which way the Bloc Québécois will go, although the party has sent signals of openness to the motion

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