An Act to amend the Referendum Act

Bill C-408 was a Bloc Québécois Private Member's Bill amending the Referendum Act (S.C. 1992, c. 30) to recognize and formalize the use of provincial referendums on matters of provincial jurisdiction. Currently the federal Referendum Act covers federal referendums (the only federal referendum since the Act's passage was the 1992 Charlottetown Accord referendum, voted down October 26, 1992 with 54.3 percent No). The Bloc bill sought to fortify Quebec's recognition for any potential future sovereignty referendum following the Supreme Court's binding ruling in Reference re Secession of Quebec (1998) on the constitutional requirements for unilateral provincial secession.