“The government says it will use federal rules to judge any future referendum in Quebec. A real democracy lets the people decide by a simple majority of 50 percent plus one. Will the government respect our democratic choice?”

“Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister and his Minister of Justice confirmed that any future referendum will be subject to the undemocratic Clarity Act. They want to pick the question and decide what constitutes a majority. We would remind them that a democratic majority is 50% of the votes plus one. That is the rule wherever democracy exists. We would also remind them that the difference between a democracy and a banana republic is that in a banana republic, the government interferes with its citizens’ democratic choice. Is the government going to respect democracy?”

“In a democracy, winning means getting 50 percent of the vote plus one. That is the rule for our elections, and it is Quebec's law for a referendum. I want the Liberals to respect that rule.”

“Mr. Speaker, they were not that clear yesterday. We will say it again: Democracy means 50% of the votes plus one. That is the threshold everywhere, for the laws passed here, for elections, for the people who are here. It is the same for everyone. An attack on that is an attack, in Quebec’s case, on a people’s right to self-determination. It is an attack on Quebec’s Bill 99, which establishes the rule of 50% plus one for any referendum and which has stood up in court. It is an attack on the principle of free elections. Will the Liberals stop sliding toward authoritarianism and respect democracy?”