OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that a simple “50 % plus one” result would not be sufficient under the Clarity Act for a provincial separation referendum, doubling down on comments he made earlier in the House of Commons.Speaking to the Western Standard on Parliament Hill, Carney was repeatedly asked whether a simple majority would be enough in a future referendum on separation.“No, it is not,” Carney said. “It is not under a Clarity Act. It is absolutely not.” “And I would just recommend that you read the clarity act. It’s very clear — not surprisingly, the clarity act is very clear,” he added. Earlier in the day, Carney defended the Clarity Act during Question Period after Christine Normandin argued that democratic votes are generally decided by “50 percent plus one.”Normandin accused Ottawa of applying different standards to Quebec sovereignty referendums and called for the repeal of the Clarity Act..In response, Carney said the House of Commons must consider multiple factors when determining whether a referendum result constitutes a “clear expression” in favour of secession, including voter turnout and the scope of the majority.During his exchange with the Western Standard, Carney also suggested the specific referendum scenario being discussed involved a non-binding question.“It’s explicit in the question that it’s not a binding referendum,” he said. “As Prime Minister, and issues, particular issues of a constitutional nature, I like to make sure I have the official advice before,” Carney added. The Clarity Act was introduced by former prime minister Jean Chrétien’s Liberal government following the Supreme Court of Canada’s 1998 ruling on Quebec secession.The legislation gives the House of Commons authority to determine whether a referendum question and result are sufficiently clear before the federal government would enter negotiations on separation.
