On Thursday, the Parti Quebec Parliament rejected a second proposal from the government to extend the session and pass Bill 15 next week, viewing it as another “disguised gag order” from the government.
Government leader Simon Jolin-Barrette proposed on Thursday to add one more day (Thursday the 14th) to his previous offer to discuss the Health Québec Agency bill with the aim of adopting it the following day.
Quebec Parliament
On Wednesday, he had suggested dedicating Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to its consideration for adoption on Thursday. However, the PQ had declined because the government insisted on adoption on Thursday, regardless. According to their leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, it was a “disguised gag order.”
In response to the new offer, the reaction remained the same. The PQ’s health spokesperson, Joël Arseneau, asserted, “It’s a variation on the same theme. They are extending the disguised gag order by one day. We reject the imposition of a government-imposed deadline under the threat of being gagged.”
The parliamentary session was originally set to conclude on Friday, December 8, and lawmakers are far from completing the study of Bill 15 on health. However, the Legault government is determined to have it adopted before the break.
Consequently, two options are available: a gag order or an extension of work beyond Friday. However, the consent of the opposition is required to extend the parliamentary session, hence the ongoing negotiations.
In the absence of an agreement, tensions are escalating between the CAQ and the PQ. On the X platform (formerly Twitter), many CAQ supporters have highlighted since Wednesday that MP Arseneau has missed several sessions of the parliamentary committee studying Bill 15 for months.
On the other hand, Arseneau infuriated his adversaries on Thursday morning by stating that the CAQ wanted to adopt Bill 15 in 2023 because the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, was “tired.”
Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee on Bill 15 continues its work on Thursday afternoon. The same goes for Bill 31 on housing.
It is still unknown whether the latter can be adopted by the end of the day on Friday, as the CAQ has rejected the conditions submitted by Québec solidaire to modify the parliamentary schedule.
On Thursday, the PQ also submitted its conditions for the adoption of the same bill. They request the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, to soften the clauses on lease assignment, allowing property owners to restrict them only when the sector’s vacancy rate is above 3%.
Remember that unless an agreement is reached with the opposition, the government will not have time to adopt Bill 31 before the end of the parliamentary session tomorrow unless it is imposed by a gag order.
