Bloc Quebecois votes on Afghanistan mission

Here is an NDP account of Bloc votes and positions on Afghanistan. It seems to have changed from being against the mission with the NDP to for the mission sort of, to voting with the Liberals, and now Duceppe is threatening to bring down the government. We will see..Somehow I doubt it.

Bloc Quebecois wrong in supporting Afghanistan mission beyond 2009
Tue 29 May 2007 | Printer friendly
OTTAWA – The Bloc Quebecois is prepared to support extending the mission in Afghanistan beyond 2009, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper proposed during a trip to Afghanistan last week. The Bloc’s defence critic, Claude Bachand, announced this new position last week on the eve of a meeting of parliamentarians in Europe.

This position is incompatible with the wishes of the majority of Quebeckers, says the NDP’s Quebec spokesperson, Thomas Mulcair. “The Bloc’s position is incomprehensible. It is out of touch with Quebeckers. This mission in Afghanistan remains unbalanced and unclear. It isn’t working. It’s the wrong mission for Canada.”

In Portugal, Bachand offered to lobby European parliamentarians to promote the extension of the mission. “Conservative MPs couldn’t have done a better job themselves,” added Mulcair. Bachand will be back tomorrow and will likely report to his colleagues on his success in doing Harper’s lobbying work.

This is not the first time Bachand has pushed the Bloc Quebecois towards supporting Stephen Harper’s military misadventures. In April 2006, during the debate on the mission in Afghanistan, Bachand declared that “once people are informed about the Canadian Forces’ mission, they will agree with it, which will give us stronger support. So let’s keep going.” Bachand’s support was warmly applauded by the Conservatives. However, it is interesting to note that the Bloc later voted against the mission in Afghanistan during Bachand’s absence.

17 May 2006 - Every Bloc MP voted with the NDP against extending the mission to February 2009. Bachand was the only Bloc MP absent. He was not “paired” unlike the votes immediately before and after it.
24 April 2007 - Every Bloc MP present (including Bachand) voted in favour of a Liberal motion to keep the mission going until 2009.
30 April 2007 - Every Bloc MP present (including Bachand) voted with the Conservatives to defeat an NDP motion to immediately notify NATO of our intention to begin withdrawing from the mission in Afghanistan.
“The truth of the matter is that the only party for peace in Quebec, with a clear position, is the NDP,” concluded Mulcair