BLOC MP REVEALS FIGHT WITH BIPOLAR.

OTTAWA • Quietly on medical leave from work since last January, Bloc Québécois MP Simon Marcil announced on Tuesday that he has been dealing with mental health issues and was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

“Over the last year, I've unfortunately had to be absent while facing mental health issues. Week after week, I hoped to be able to return, but against all hopes, my leave unexpectedly extended as my health was slow to improve,” the MP for the Montreal-area riding of Mirabel wrote in French on social media.

“Worse yet, for several months we had no idea what problem I was dealing with exactly, which cast even more uncertainty on the situation. My doctor then concluded the obvious: bipolar disorder.”

His statement came hours after National Post reported that Marcil had been on medical leave from his job as an MP since Jan. 31. His absence was never made public by him or his party and was unknown to most, including the mayor of the city he represents in Parliament.

His last statement in committee or in the House of Commons dates back to Dec. 2019, and his last recorded vote was on Jan. 27, 2020.

But experts and members of Marcil's own party have questioned the Bloc's decision to keep the absence quiet from Canadians, particularly because of the important and public role of a member of Parliament.

“This is indeed a very weird situation and trying to hide such a long absence is wrong,” Daniel Béland, director of McGill's Institute for the Study of Canada, wrote on social media Tuesday.

He was agreeing with comments made in the report by Mike Medeiros, a Canadian electoral politics expert now teaching at the University of Amsterdam, who said that the Bloc's decision was “very strange”.

“He is an MP, he has obligations to his constituents. And part of that obligation is to be direct about what's happening with your situation. If you disappear for one year, it becomes a problem for representative democracy,” Medeiros said.

Others, such as NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice, are critical of the fact that Marcil — who continues to collect his full salary of $182,600 — was reimbursed by the government for some expenses related to his secondary residence during his absence.

Marcil's riding is roughly one and a half hours away from Parliament.

“Like everyone else, a member of Parliament has the right to be absent for health or family reasons,” Boulerice said in a statement. “However, what is troubling is the fact that he has been claiming reimbursement for his second home for almost a year while he is not working in Parliament.”

Marcil did not address the issue of his expenses either following questions sent by National Post on Sunday or in his statement on Tuesday.

Simon Marcil