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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper took pains to rub salt in the wounds of his New Democrat rivals Thursday after a member of the official Opposition bolted the party to join the Bloc Quebecois.

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By crossing the floor to the languishing Bloc, Claude Patry abruptly became the fifth member of the pro-independence party in the House of Commons.

The defection is a badly needed morale boost for the Bloc, which was crushed by the NDP in the last election and has been perceived to be on political life support.

And despite the fact no one asked him to comment on the move, Harper nonetheless seized the opportunity to score some political points.

“This is an issue that has concerned us for some time, and does concern us: the ambiguity on Canadian unity that we have among some members of the NDP caucus in Quebec,” he said.

Harper said the NDP has “many, many links” to the sovereigntist Quebec solidaire — a “very strong” provincial party which currently holds two seats in the province’s national assembly.