Quebec to table a motion on 1995 sovereignty referendum

No supporters respond to poll results, in Montreal Monday, Oct. 30, 1995 as the pro-Canada camp move above 50 percent of the popular vote on their way to a slim victory in the Quebec referendum. Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the Quebec sovereignty referendum vote that was held on Oct. 30, 1995. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Bossinot

The Legault government will table a new motion to force the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to lift the secrecy surrounding the enquiry into the financing of the No camp in the 1995 referendum on sovereignty.

Chief Electoral Officer Jean-François Blanchet indicated on Tuesday that he would not be able to disclose all the testimony and documents gathered, despite the motion tabled by the Parti Québécois and adopted unanimously by the national assembly.

At a press scrum on Wednesday morning, Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions Jean-François Roberge said that he would return to the issue on Thursday or Friday before the end of the parliamentary session.

He said that he would table a clearer motion, which should specify that it was an assembly order.

In the Oct. 30, 1995 referendum the No side won by a narrow margin, 50.58% to 49.42% for the Yes side.

Sovereigntists often accused their federalist opponents of cheating during the referendum campaign by not respecting the funding ceiling allocated to both camps under Quebec law.

The Grenier Commission investigated the illegal financing of the No camp in 2007, but Commissioner Bernard Grenier imposed a publication ban on the testimony and documents submitted as evidence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 7, 2023.