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 have to hold its referendum, there are different rules. There is a government subsidy of $0.50 per elector. That is what was decided for the 1995 referendum. Another $0.50 may come from the political parties, which may therefore also be deposited into each camp's fund. Individuals may also make contributions, to a maximum of $3,000. Again, certain amounts can be calculated in that way. The amounts are therefore not the same, the rules are not identical. However, if it were to be decided to hold an election and a referendum at the same time in Quebec, it would have to be ensured that there is a watertight contract between the referendum rules and the election rules. That can be done, but it is not easy to do.
There is the very recent example of a provincial election campaign that took place in a local riding in Quebec, more specifically the riding of Rivière-du-Loup. It prompted quite a bit of discussion. One of the parties decided to organize a big political meeting in Rivière-du-Loup at the same time as the election, although the meeting was first supposed to have been held in Drummondville or Sherbrooke, if I remember correctly. It was relocated to Rivière-du-Loup to take advantage of the time an election was being held. You can imagine the complaints we got about that. A distinction had to be made between expenses relating to the big happening in Rivière-du-Loup and expenses relating to the election, to support the candidate in the race. It was done very transparently, but I can assure you that it was done under very close scrutiny.