Report: Quebec party seeks to topple Canada's Conservatives
OTTAWA, Canada (Reuters) -- Canada's opposition Bloc Quebecois aims to topple the minority Conservative government February 15, the La Presse newspaper said Thursday.
It said the Bloc, which seeks independence for the French-speaking province of Quebec, would introduce a no-confidence motion in Parliament over the government's handling of its mission in Afghanistan, where more than 40 Canadian troops have died so far.
Recent opinion polls show that if the Conservatives were defeated, an election probably would bring either be a majority or a minority Liberal government.
The Bloc says Canadian troops, who have been involved in fierce clashes with Taliban militants, should be trying to help rebuild Afghanistan rather than fighting.
The leftist New Democrats want Canada's troops to be pulled out of Afghanistan, while the Liberals have demanded the focus of the mission be switched to reconstruction.
The spokesman for Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe was not immediately available for comment.
<snip>
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/12/14/canada.bloc.reut/index.html?eref=rss_latest