Quebec MNAs vote to abolish oath to King as assembly wraps up for holidays

QUEBEC — More money for Quebecers to cope with inflation, an economic update, a final vote abolishing the controversial oath to King Charles III and the naming of a new chief electoral officer for the province.

MNAs from three of the four political parties wrapped up a short eight-day sitting of the National Assembly Friday with a flurry of last minute votes and decisions. Then it was time for holiday greetings and everyone headed for the door with no plans to return to the legislature before the end of January.

“Essentially we put money in the pockets of Quebecers, and put a ceiling on fees,” Premier François Legault said in brief remarks to reporters as he walked down the hall to a final question period. “That was our two-week session. Now I am going to meet Senator Serge Savard.”

Indeed meeting Savard and other members of Team Canada marking the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series was one of the highlights for Legault and other politicians on the last day of the session. On hand in the visitor’s gallery, the players got a round of applause.

But there was some serious business conducted in the last two weeks. A total of 10 pieces of legislation were tabled by the government and opposition parties with two adopted in the dying hours of the session Friday.

Voted into law was Bill 1, which slaps a three per cent ceiling on increases on a range of government fees including university tuition, hunting and fishing permits, parking at health care institutions and daycare fees. The bill is part of the government’s so-called anti-inflation shield designed to help Quebecers through the cost-of-living crisis.

The bill is in addition to the cheques of between $400 and $600 already on the way to millions of Quebecers.

And adopted, unanimously, was Bill 4, an act stating that Section 128 of the 1867 Constitution Act covering an oath to King Charles III does not apply to Quebec.

In practical terms, the law exempts Quebec from the act and says the only oath required to sit in the legislature is the one to the Quebec people, which has been included in National Assembly regulations since 1982.

While Quebec’s Liberals had expressed some reservations about the bill and said they would have liked to hear from experts on the long-term impact of the law, they voted in favour along with all the Coalition Avenir Québec caucus and MNAs with Québec solidaire.

But the vote came too late for the three Parti Québécois MNAs, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, Pascal Bérubé and Joël Arseneau who had refused to swear the oath to the king and were thus not allowed into the blue room for the session or the vote on Bill 4.

They had hoped to take their seats for at least a few hours Friday — especially to ask Legault questions — but the vote on Bill 4 did not come until the end of day.

The good news for them is that they will be allowed to sit as full legal MNAs in the house when work resumes Jan. 31, 2023.

“In Quebec, we are a democratic people,” Democratic Institutions Minister Jean-François Roberge said Tuesday in tabling Bill 4. “We are not a monarchist people.”

“It’s a beautiful moment for Quebec democracy,” St-Pierre Plamondon tweeted Friday after the bill was adopted. “A step toward the emancipation of the Quebec people from British colonialism, towards normalcy.”

It’s unclear whether the new law will be challenged in the courts. Constitutional scholars differ on whether Quebec has the power to allow members to participate in legislative debates and votes without taking the oath.

A smiling St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters later Friday that the legislature’s legal staff has indicated to him the law is sound and their right to sit in the house is “irrevocable,” even if a challenge is launched.

And later, Quebec’s lieutenant-governor, J. Michel Doyon, issued a statement confirming he had given the bill royal assent, which means Bill 4 has the force of law.

Noting, however, that lieutenant-governor is “apolitical,” in the legislative process, the statement says: “in the eventuality that the legality or constitutionality of a law is raised, the question would fall within the authority of the judiciary and not that of the lieutenant-governor.”

The whole oath saga, however, sparked some good-natured humour on the last day of session when it came time for the leaders to extend holiday greetings to each other.

Liberal Leader Marc Tanguay reached into a bag and produced a Christmas gift for St-Pierre Plamondon, a biography of the life of King Charles. With St-Pierre Plamondon still not allowed in the room, he asked the sergeant-at-arms to deliver the book to the PQ leader’s office.

But the opposition parties were, nevertheless harsh in their criticism of the government’s performance in the short session. The economic update tabled by Finance Minister Eric Girard Thursday that included more anti-inflation measures, this time for seniors, did not impress them.

“We expected François Legault to use each day, each minute of these two weeks to fight the cost-of-living crisis,” QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said at a news conference. “He did not do it.”

Despite the difficulties the party faced in the form of dissent in the caucus leading to one MNA, Marie-Claude Nichols, choosing to sit as an independent, Tanguay insisted the Liberals did well under difficult circumstances.

“I think we already made our mark with respect to education, health-care system, justice system and daycare system,” Tanguay told reporters. “We’ll continue doing our job and will be back in February.”

MNAs also elected a new chief electoral officer for Quebec. Jean-François Blanchet, who was already working in the office, takes over from the departing officer, Pierre Reid. Blanchet’s term is seven years.

pauthier@postmedia.com

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