Bloc leader blasts 'king' Trudeau while calling for Parliament to return

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet on Wednesday demanded the return of Parliament as he denounced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “king.”

“I know Canada is a monarchy, but I didn’t know it had an actual king, someone who decides everything and makes a show of it on a daily basis and does not answer to a parliament. It does look like a monarchy,” said Blanchet.

Trudeau responded to the comments in his daily press conference outside Rideau Cottage by saying that it was irresponsible for an opposition party leader to cry “dictatorship” because they didn’t get their way.

The Liberals, joined by the NDP and the Greens, voted to suspend regular sittings of Parliament until September. Most parliamentary business is being conducted through a special COVID-19 committee, and there will be four special House sittings over the summer.

But the Bloc, along with the Conservatives, has been calling for Parliament to return. Both parties said the House of Commons could operate in a safe way that would not endanger the health of MPs.

At a press conference Wednesday, Blanchet was asked how he thinks the Liberal government is operating.

“I think the prime minister should come back on earth, be more open-minded, sit with people who have ideas, find solutions somewhere in between what they think and what we think,” he said.

Blanchet said special rules that were announced in March restricting Parliament should now be changed.

“We see the Liberals are attempting to make the special rules last as long as they can in order to handle issues, like if they were something between a majority government and the rule of a king.”

He said it was only a mark of respect toward Quebec and Canada “to have Parliament start working as Parliament again. And if it does happen in the middle of summer we do not mind.”

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Blanchet said MPs were impatient to come back and do their job and he warned the Liberals, “Beware if you keep forgetting and not listening to what Quebec wants.”

At his press conference, Trudeau said three parties had come together and agreed on how Parliament should operate during the COVID crisis.

The Bloc and the Conservatives did not agree, but “the will of Parliament was expressed by a majority,” he said.

“If every time something does not go their way an opposition party cries, ‘Oh no, it’s a dictatorship all of a sudden,’ it’s sort of irresponsible and undermines the strength of our democracy,” said Trudeau.