I think I would prefer the Referendum Act to be aligned with the Elections Act. As far as I know, the Referendum Act has not been debated on its own merits since 1992. The Canada Elections Act, on the other hand, has been debated many times. I understand that in 2000 a brand new Elections Act was adopted. Parliament had time to adjust its thinking to everything that happened—new members of Parliament, representations, court decisions. I would tend to assume that the most up-to-date of these two documents is the Elections Act. So if you have to change one to square with the other, I would suggest that the Referendum Act should follow the principles set out in the Canada Elections Act, unless, in your wisdom, and in accordance with your privilege as members of Parliament, you feel that the Elections Act is wrong.
On November 19th, 2009. See this statement in context.