Procedure and House Affairs committee  Of course the role of the Chief Electoral Officer is to make sure that the referendum is carried out properly and there is access to the polling process in the referendum. However, there is a line between that and having them promote the referendum campaign, as was done in Ontari

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In Quebec, we have had three referendums: one in 1980, one in 1992 and one in 1995. And the political parties were very involved.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In Quebec, we have umbrella committees that work well. They allow for a very proper line to be drawn between the options and for the position of each of the advocates of those options to be stated. For us, that is how it is, and that is how it is going to stay.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  If it is a national referendum, held Canada-wide, I think the rules in the federal Referendum Act should apply. There absolutely has to be harmonization, so people all have the same right to vote, in that situation, so the rules do not vary from one province to another. If the re

Procedure and House Affairs committee  When a question providing for a referendum is introduced in the National Assembly, there are 18 days before the government issues a writ instituting the referendum. During that period, and of course once the writ is issued, we have a good idea of what the question will be. Howeve

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, it's case by case. In the example I have here, the yes and no arguments each comprise about 20 pages presented by each of the camps in support of its position. We made sure that the number of pages and characters was approximately the same, and that the case was mounted in a

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The rules are not necessarily the same. For example, in the case of the rules that apply to referendums, the act provides for maximum spending of $1 per elector. So if there are 5.5 million electors, each camp may spend $5.5 million. For the funds that each of the committees may

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There are referendums in municipalities virtually once a week. It must be noted that there has to be a referendum, for example, when a municipality decides to adopt a borrowing bylaw or make a zoning change, if there are enough signatures in a register kept by the city clerk. If

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities dates from 1987. So it has certainly been in the law since then. Before that, municipal elections and referendums were governed by various statutes, including the Charter of the City of Québec, the Charter of the City

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In the case of referendums or elections?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It depends on the subject. For example, if it's a zoning bylaw, the stakes may be very high, and so the turnout may be high. In cases like that, obviously it's the opponents who vote, to prevent the bylaw being passed. Whether it is a borrowing bylaw or a zoning bylaw, you have t

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It is always a political choice, but it seems preferable, to me, not to hold a referendum at the same time as an election. It is possible to do that where I am, in Quebec, in municipalities. It is open to them to hold certain types of referendums at the same time as a municipal e

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I share the view of my colleague from Ontario. It does depend on the subjects, as was said a little earlier. Given that there are financing rules, I think it is very important, when it is decided to hold an election at the same time as a referendum, to make sure that the question

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That comes back to what I said earlier. I completely agree with my colleague from Ontario. In 1992 in Quebec we saw the problems that this situation could cause. The criteria for being able to vote were not the same as elsewhere in Canada. If it were ever decided to do that, it w

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It would further be possible to also harmonize the financing rules. That would mean we could make sure there is no problem in holding an election at the same time as a referendum in future, if the rules were properly harmonized.