Following a motion in the House of Commons to sever ties between Canada and the monarchy, Quebecois Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet on Tuesday called the institution “extremely racist” and “due to the control slaves.”
“It’s ancient. It’s a thing of the past. It’s almost archeology. It’s humiliating,” Blanchet said in a speech to MPs, urging them to take the necessary steps to erase it. abandon the monarchy.
However, it will be “difficult” to sever those connections in Canada, legal theorist and law professor Allan Hutchinson of York University told CTVNews.ca in September.
Hutchinson explained severing ties would require “an amendment by unanimous consent” to the Constitution, with the consent of the House, Senate and all 10 provinces.
Other MPs criticized Blanchet’s actions as undercutting more pressing priorities, such as inflation, climate change, pandemics and healthcare, and questioned the bloc’s timing. in the monarchy debate.
Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus called the move “part of the Bloc’s long tradition of political swings” and accused the party of joking with the headlines.
“The block is just looking for a reason to exist,” he said. “They are looking for a reason to justify their existence in this room, which they call the Foreign Parliament.”
Meanwhile, Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux said Canadians are more focused on other issues.
“There are so many things on Canadians’ minds, whether it’s seniors, our health care system or jobs,” he said. “And the Separatist party in the House wants to focus on changing the constitution. Do members really believe, given the priorities I’ve just highlighted, that this is really the time to open up the Constitution?”
“We can talk about many things at once,” Blanchet countered.
The Bloc leader also said members of his party had been “forced” to swear allegiance to a “conquering” empire, rendering their oaths to the Crown “meaningless”. He said Bloc MPs were honest in their oaths to the Quebecers, not to the monarchy.
