G&M: Bloc to force election if fiscal imbalance not settled

[tuvor]

The Bloc Québécois says it will defeat the minority Conservative government and force an election early next year if Prime Minister Stephen Harper fails to deliver on his promise to settle the fiscal imbalance in the next federal budget.

Anything short of $3.9-billion for Quebec in the next budget will constitute a broken promise, party leader Gilles Duceppe said yesterday while warning Quebec Premier Jean Charest against accepting anything less from his Conservative friends.

“Jean Charest must absolutely maintain the $3.9-billion and change friends and stop being a beggar who is satisfied with receiving crumbs. We will keep an eye on him and we will demand a $3.9-million settlement,” Mr. Duceppe told more than 250 Bloc Québécois members at the party's annual meeting.

The party was determined to win back the seats it lost in the Quebec City region in the last campaign and was determined to take aim at the Conservatives right-wing agenda.

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