During one of his rare appearances for Question Period in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Mark Carney was pressed by Bloc Québécois House Leader Christine Normandin when she stated “A clear majority is 50 per cent of the votes plus one. The prime minister knows this; all his laws are passed by 50 per cent plus one. His majority rests on 50 per cent plus one.”

Carney responded saying, “We must respect democracy, we must respect the laws of Parliament and the decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada… It is not 50 percent plus one.”

The prime minister reiterated his claim to the press after the session when asked if 50 percent plus one is the bar set for a referendum, stating “No it is not and the Clarity Act is very clear.”

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Carney’s statements are in complete contradiction to what his Liberal Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice Patricia Lattanzio affirmed in the House of Commons on May 8.

Bloc Québécois MP Mario Simard repeatedly pressed the Liberal government on the threshold for a provincial independence referendum and Lattanzio responded not once but twice expressly stating the bar for a referendum is 50 percent plus one.

On behalf of Carney in her first response she said “we’ll wait to see what is happening in Alberta but the Prime Minister has been very clear. The rules are clear, there needs [to be] a majority 50% plus one.”

In her second response she referenced the Clarity Act stating, “Mr. Speaker, our party will always, always respect the law of the land. Clarity Act. 50% plus one. We do not have the intention to go against that law which is very, very clear.”

The Clarity Act isn’t terribly clear in defining what a clear majority may be. The Carney government is even less clear on the issue as it offers mixed messaging.