Madam Speaker, I recognize the member would have preferred to have addressed his question to my colleague, and so I will make a suggestion in that regard in a moment. First I will address the question of referendums.
Referendums cost money of course. There is a cost to democracy. It is a matter of how much cost we are willing to accept in order to have democracy.
On the specific issue of what percentage should be accepted in a referendum, that is established before the question is put. For me to give a broad brush answer that it should be 50% plus 1 would not be fair. It depends on the issue and the agreement beforehand as to what would be an appropriate percentage. There are different rules depending on what is perceived by society to be the seriousness of the question.
As I recognize that the majority of the content of the hon. member's question was really for my colleague, I would like to ask the unanimous consent of the House to allow my colleague to answer.