Bloc Hopes Gun Registry Triggers Byelection Win

From The CBC:

The Bloc Québécois is using gun control to curry favour in a pair of federal byelections Monday that are seen as mid-term popularity contests for the sovereigntist party.

The Bloc is fighting to hold on to the Hochelaga riding in east-end Montreal, and the Montmagnuy-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup riding in eastern Quebec, two regions where its candidates face close races with their opponents.

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My comment: the opposition is split, and 40% of the riding who are separatists .... and they are going to vote for the Bloc.

Bloc Support For Tories To Avert Election Call

From The CBC:

The Bloc Québécois will support the Conservative government's budget motion on Friday, averting a federal election call this week.

The government is bringing forward a financial ways-and-means motion, which includes the popular tax credits for home renovation. It is considered a confidence issue, and its defeat could trigger an election.

Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said his party had gone over the motion and supports it, in particular the tax credit.

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My Comment: The tax credit and the UI benefits package helps Quebec in a big way. The Bloc is doing something that is politically smart for them.

Election Chances 'More Than Great': Duceppe

Photo: Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe walks by a Bloc pre-election campaign poster Tuesday after the first day of a two-day caucus meeting. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)

From The CBC:

A federal election appears to be inevitable, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said on Tuesday, as his party launched an ad campaign that claims there's little difference between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

"Mr. Ignatieff doesn't seem to look like he's going to back down, and Mr. Harper is not the kind of man who makes compromises or who achieves consensus … so I think the chances of an election are great — more than great," Duceppe said in Quebec City following a caucus meeting.

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My Comment: The Bloc are well positioned in this election .... they are going to match what they did last time ... maybe even pick a seat or two from the Conservatives.

No Pinning Duceppe Down On Tories

Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe. Pierre Obendrauf/Canwest News Service

From The Montreal Gazette:

BOIS DES FILION – Maybe yes, maybe no. It depends.

Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe entered into a game of political chicken Wednesday over a possible federal election this fall when he refused to say clearly – unlike Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff a day earlier – where he stands on the future of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government.

But Duceppe also made it clear that he is not scared of an election, either, if push comes to shove.

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My Comment: He is not going to support the Tories .... and PM Harper is not going to call him.