Bloc Quebecois

In Saskatchewan, we never see a candidate running for Bloc Quebecois, or the Bloc, as many people refer to it. This roots of this party sparked a major political disruption, beginning with the defection and crossing of the floor of Lucien Bouchard. In the first election the Bloc ran in, they were elected as the official Opposition! This may come as a surprise to some, but if you remember the brutal lashing the conservatives took (only got 3 seats!) it's not that odd. The Bloc's goal is simple...sovereignty for Quebec. They do not participate in federal politics. They feel that local money should stay local and that Quebecer's tax money would be better spent by the provincial government.

Now, you may say "Oh, this is sooooo terrible!!" But you need to look at things in perspective. Quebec has a lot of things that other provinces wish they had. They have the best daycare program, one that every other province would like to copy. And this is all done by the provincial government.

The Bloc throws a new twist into the mix that we have never had before. Remember, the Bloc is only 15 years old. It has been suggested that due to the Bloc, we are stuck in a period of minority governments. If you think about it, we only have 308 seats....approximately 55 are in the hands of the Bloc now and I presume that will only increase, to as many as 60 or 65 (well, no more than however many ridings are in Quebec). And with the stranglehold the Conservatives have in the prairies (Goodale is the lone non-conservative in SK), it is going to be extremely difficult for any party to form a majority. It was especially difficult when we had the PC and Alliance...now that they've joined together as one conservative party, they have a better chance of getting a majority. But with the Bloc stealing over 50 seats, that definitely can make the difference between a minority and majority government.

As far as political parties go, I think the Bloc is a great one. Really, they know what they want and they work hard for it. They have been extremely successful in their history as a party. They also have managed to wield a large amount of power in parliament. I suspect, now that there is a new leader of the PQ (provincial party), we will be seeing a lot of push for another referendum soon. So watch out!!!

**I got my information from Wikipedia. Went to the BQ site, but it was all in French! Those bastards.