NDP reaffirms belief bare majority vote would trigger Quebec secession talks

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The federal NDP is standing by its position that a bare majority Yes vote would be sufficient to trigger negotiations on Quebec’s secession from Canada.

New Democrat MPs are holding firm in the face of a report that the Liberals could ask Parliament to reaffirm its support for the Clarity Act now that Quebecers have elected a minority separatist government.

The act stipulates that the federal government would require a clear majority to vote for a clear referendum question on Quebec independence before it would consider negotiating the terms of a divorce.

The NDP supported the Clarity Act when it was introduced in 1999 by the Liberal government of Jean Chretien, in response to the country’s near-death experience in Quebec’s 1995 referendum.

However, the NDP has since adopted its own policy on Quebec, known as the Sherbrooke declaration, which says the party would regard a vote of 50 per cent plus one to be sufficiently clear to trigger secession talks.

New Democrats say their position is consistent with democratic principles and with the Clarity Act, which does not specify what would constitute a clear majority.