Canada
This article was added by the user . TheWorldNews is not responsible for the content of the platform.

CAQ plans to introduce bill making oath to King optional for legislators

All three PQ MNAs are currently barred from the legislature after refusing to take the oath.

Quebec French Language, Francophonie and responsible for Canadian Relations Minister Jean-Francois Roberge is sworn in during a ceremony at the Quebec Legislature, in Quebec City, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.
Quebec French Language, Francophonie and responsible for Canadian Relations Minister Jean-Francois Roberge is sworn in during a ceremony at the Quebec Legislature, in Quebec City, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Photo by Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press

Quebec’s governing Coalition Avenir Quebec is scheduled to introduce a bill today making the oath to the monarch optional for members of the provincial legislature.

Jean-Francois Roberge, the minister responsible for democratic institutions, said in a news release that once the bill is adopted, members will only be required to swear loyalty to the people of Quebec and to the Constitution.

Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

The three Parti Quebecois members who were elected in October were barred from taking their seats in the legislature last week after they refused to swear allegiance to King Charles.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, centre, speaks to National Assembly sergeant-at-arms Véronique Michel, who prevented the three PQ elected MNAs from entering the blue room on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, centre, speaks to National Assembly sergeant-at-arms Véronique Michel, who prevented the three PQ elected MNAs from entering the blue room on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press

All members of provincial legislatures and the federal parliament are required by the Canadian Constitution to swear loyalty to the monarch before taking their seats.

Constitutional scholars are divided over whether Quebec has the power to unilaterally eliminate the oath requirement for its legislature or if changing that element of the Constitution requires the consent of all provinces and both houses of Parliament.

Québec solidaire, whose members swore the oath under protest, had also introduced a bill to eliminate the requirement that members swear loyalty to the monarch.

  1. Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, centre, speaks to National Assembly sergeant-at-arms Véronique Michel, who prevented the three PQ elected MNAs to enter the blue room on Thursday.

    PQ MNAs denied access to the legislature amid oath dispute

  2. Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, centre, speaks to National Assembly sergeant-at-arms Véronique Michel, who prevented the three PQ elected MNAs from entering the blue room on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022.

    There's no official French version of the 1867 Constitution Act. So is taking the oath to the King in French valid?