On Monday, September 16, Claude DeBellefeuille, Member of Parliament for Salaberry-Suroît, will head back to Ottawa for the start of the 2024-2025 parliamentary session. Néomédia spoke to the elected representative to find out about her priorities as the new political session gets underway. 

Over the coming weeks, Ms. DeBellefeuille and her Bloc Québécois colleagues will continue their mobilization to advance Bill 319. Specifically, this bill aims to increase Old Age Security by 10% for people aged 65 to 74. 

“We took advantage of the third edition of my annual corn roast to get people to sign the petition to push this issue forward. We cannot tolerate the fact that we currently have two classes of seniors in our society: those aged 75 and over, for whom the combination of Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement enables them to obtain incomes in the middle of the market basket measure, and those under 75, who are below the poverty line,” she begins. 

According to the wording of the petition, the Old Age Security (OAS) income threshold would be raised from $5,000 to $6,500 with this bill. 

A bill to protect supply management  

Another of the issues DeBellefeuille and her colleagues will address is a bill to protect supply management. “It's currently being held up voluntarily by the Liberals and Conservatives, after having passed unanimously in the House of Commons and been debated in the Senate. We don't want the file to be further delayed. We're confident that the whole thing will pass the Senate by the end of the year,” she adds. 

Defending social programs such as housing is also on the Bloc Québécois agenda for this fall. “It won't be an easy parliamentary session. On the contrary, the climate will be tense between the Liberals and the Conservatives. My colleagues and I are often the adults in the house. We're going to get on with our work and focus on our objectives. Our motto is simple when it comes to voting on a bill: if it's good for Quebec, we vote yes; if it's not, we vote no. We're loyal to Quebecers, and we'll do everything we can to help them. We are loyal to Quebecers and to preserving their interests,” she continues. 

What's the latest on the rumors of an election in the fall parliamentary session? In her own words, it would be surprising if this were the case. “The climate would be more favourable this spring for calling an election with the tabling of Budget 2025. This fall, there won't really be any good opportunities to do so, whereas next March or April, when the budget is tabled, it will be the case,” she concludes.