From decriminalizing drugs and prostitution to lowering the voting age to 16, Bloc Québécois delegates passed resolutions to reclaim Labrador and fight “Canada’s appropriation of Quebec culture.”
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At the bloc’s convention, which began Friday and ended Sunday, the party passed more than 100 resolutions almost unanimously, all after a 97.25% vote of confidence in party leader Yves-Francois Blanchet.
Among the proposals, trending in progressive circles, is an initiative to “completely decriminalize the profession of sex worker and the acquisition of these services”.
The majority-adopted resolution of the Bloc Québécois youth forum on sex work was defended by a young activist at the microphone as “a legitimate job that allows sex workers to earn money and take care of their needs”.
Likewise, delegates supported the idea of decriminalizing the possession and use of “all drugs,” an idea put forward by the Montreal riding delegates of Hochelaga.
Another proposal put forward by the Youth Forum that the Bloc Québécois should “position itself resolutely as a defender of the drag and LGBTQ+ community” was passed without difficulty, as was another aimed at increasing voting rights from 18 to 16 lower it, and another who should defend them from abortion rights.
Among the 120 proposals that were widely accepted with ease, it is those pertaining to secularism that have sparked somewhat more heated debates.
In addition, only one application aimed at providing “incentives” to international students, seasonal and temporary workers in the regions to obtain permanent residency status “on a fast track” was denied.
Notable is the resolution calling on the party to fight against “Canada’s appropriation of Quebec culture.” The Putin served as an example for one of the motion’s supporters, who opposed Canada’s portrayal of the dish outside our borders as a “great Canadian dish.”
The bloc voted in favor of an even more daring motion to defend “the historic land claims of the Quebec government, particularly as they relate to Labrador.”
Although it caused some laughter in the Chamber and although one delegate warned that politics could backfire on Quebec, the proposal passed with a large majority and great applause.
At the end of the congress, Yves-François Blanchet took stock and praised the activists for their work.
“They have led us, voluntarily or by force, to ask questions that sometimes disturb, shock or surprise, but are issues in today’s society that we must grapple with for years to come,” he said.