If approved, a copy of the Prescott motion would be sent to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark and Premier Doug Ford and would be circulated to all municipalities in Ontario.
Prescott council is expected to discuss a motion later this month calling for the abolition of the obligatory oath to the King when municipal politicians take office.
Town council was scheduled to discuss a notice of motion, at Monday’s regular meeting, calling for the requirement that a municipal officeholder swear allegiance to King Charles III be removed or amended to become optional.
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As it is a notice of motion, councillors are unlikely to comment on the matter until it comes up as a motion on the regular agenda at a subsequent meeting later in February.
The author of the motion, Coun. Lee McConnell, on Friday declined to comment before the matter was discussed publicly at council.
The notice of motion states that, according to Section 232 of the Municipal Act, a person can’t assume elected municipal office until taking the declaration of office in the English or French version established by the province.
It notes that Item 4 of that declaration states: “I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles the Third.”
The preamble to the notice of motion states that “the current Declaration of Office forces a duly elected official to swear allegiance to the King rather than the county, province, and community from whence elected.”
It further notes the province of Quebec recently tabled Bill 4, “which would amend the Constitution Act of 1867 and result in abolishing the requirement for elected officials to swear an oath to the King before they can take their seats in the legislature.”
The motion calls on Prescott council to request that Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark “consider amending the Ontario Municipal Act by removing Section 4 from the Declaration of Office or making it optional.”
If approved, a copy of the motion would be sent to Clark and Premier Doug Ford and would be circulated to all municipalities in Ontario.
The notice of motion comes as Charles’s accession to the throne has prompted discussions about the role of the monarchy and its place in other Commonwealth cultures.
Earlier last week, Australia made headlines with news it would remove the British monarchy from its bank notes. The nation’s central bank said Thursday its new $5 bill would feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles III. But the king is still expected to appear on coins that currently bear the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
With files from The Associated Press
