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During Question Period on justice matters, the Bloc Québécois pressed the government on how any future Quebec referendum would be judged, arguing that a democratic majority is 50% of votes plus one and asking the government to respect such a result. The Liberal replies pointed to the Clarity Act’s requirement of a clear majority, said the party will follow that law, and said they would wait to see the results of what happens in Alberta before commenting further. The exchange stayed on the referendum threshold and the clarification rules.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

4 statements

Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois

Linked statement

“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?”
Official Hansard

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?

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Patricia Lattanzio

Liberal
“We will always protect the Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We will not comment on Alberta until we see the results. The law is clear that a majority means more than half the votes, and that law must be followed.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, our government will always protect the Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We will always defend them. We are not going to speak on that at this stage. We will wait for the results to come in and see what happens in Alberta. However, the Prime Minister has been very clear. The rules are clear. A majority is 50% of the votes plus one. There are laws on that and they have to be upheld.

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Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois
“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.”
Official Hansard

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?

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Patricia Lattanzio

Liberal
“Our party will follow the law on voting thresholds. We believe in democracy. We will wait and see what happens in Alberta.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, our party will always follow the laws regarding clarity and the threshold of 50% plus one. We have no intention of going against that law, which is very clear. We believe in democracy. We will wait and see what happens in Alberta.

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