Québec solidaire did not pledge allegiance to the King
Posted October 19, 2022 4:44 pm.
Last Updated October 19, 2022 4:56 pm.
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, and the party’s 10 other MNAs, did not pledge allegiance to King Charles III on Wednesday – as required by law to sit in the National Assembly, but only to the Quebec people.
“Je, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, déclare sous serment que je serai loyal envers le peuple du Québec et que j’exercerai mes fonctions de député avec honnêteté et justice dans le respect de la constitution du Québec,” he pledged.
The Parti Québécois, who will be sworn in Friday with its three MNAs, have said they will do the same.
This is the first time in Quebec history MNAs are refusing the oath.
Nadeau-Dubois said he is confident they will find a solution before the start of the National Assembly on November 29, so elected officials who refuse the oath can still sit.
He is calling for a meeting with Premier François Legault and other opposition leaders.
“That situation has been there for decades,” added Nadeau-Dubois. “Our MNAs have tried to find ways to overcome that oath of allegiance to the British King. I remember my former colleague, Amir Khadir modifying the oath to try to find a way out. We ourselves [alone], put forward a bill to change it. We tried in 2018 to go over that oath. It’s been an ongoing debate for years at the National Assembly.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier in the day that he cannot speculate what the National Assembly can or can’t do. And that Quebecers don’t have any appetite to reopen the Constitution.
On Tuesday, 90 Coalition Avenir Québec and 21 Liberal MNAS were sworn in – and all took allegiance to the King.
In 2018, 10 Québec solidaire MNAs did pledge their oath to Queen Elizabeth II – but privately, to protest the ritual.
The following year, Québec solidaire tabled a bill to make the oath optional.
The Liberals voted against it, and nothing came of it.
“We can already do a big part of our job and we still have one month to try to find a way out of that situation. I believe in dialogue. I believe we can overcome obstacles when we work together. That’s why my hand is extended toward Mr. Legault, Mme Anglade and Mr. Plamondon. We can work together. We can overcome this if we have, if we’re all in good faith, and if we have the political will to do so.”
