The Dish should have known better than to discuss Canadian politics. A reader writes:
First of all, you're conflating the Parti Quebecois with the Bloc Quebecois. The Parti Quebecois is a provincial party, which means that it sits within the Quebec Provincial Parliament and only deals with provincial matters. The Bloc Quebecois is a federal party that sits in the national legislature in Ottawa with the unique goal of representing Quebecker goals (or at least the goals of the Parti Quebecois, with whom they are naturally affiliated). In that respect, yes, the Bloc represents Quebec.
However, I completely disagree that the Bloc's goal at the federal legislature is "to use politics as a means for disruption or protest or threat or veto." While their end goal is disruptive to keeping Quebec within Canada, they can also contribute constructively to economic or social issues that face the Federal Parliament. For instance, they were in favour of the Civil Marriage Act (Bill C-38) that legalized same-sex marriage. Just this past week, the Bloc supported Harper's Conservative Minority Government budget motion. Without the Bloc's support, the Conservative government would have fell, and an election would have been called. In short, to equate the Republicans with the Bloc is a gross over-simplification, as the Bloc Quebecois's involvement in Canadian federal politics is much more complex than that of the current Republican Party in Congress.
Another reader:
You mean the "Bloc Québeécois", I suppose. Even then, not a very good analogy. The Bloc Quebecois did not became a regional party, it was from the start, and it never meant to take power. Beside, everybody agrees that the work of the Bloc in Ottawa, while focused on Quebec demands, have been moderate and mostly constructive. To be compared to the GOP nuts is rather insulting.. The Bloc is however an obstacle to a majority government in Ottawa. Without Quebec, both Conservative and Liberal are doomed to minority status and it has consequences.
One more:
It is very clearly a protest, and its goal is secession from Canada. But, in contrast to the GOP, it actually votes on key laws, participates in discussion, is open to compromise, and even has proposed a series of bills which were eventually accepted as laws. Like it or not, this party has played its part in Canada legislative branch. They may want to split, but they act like any democratic party should, and play the same ball game as every other party in recent memory. And they don't hide their motivations: they know they will never be in power, and use their 50 or so deputies in a respectable manner as not to prevent the parliament from functioning.
Which may be more that can be said of the GOP at this time.