Québec solidaire will swear oath to King, so they can introduce bill in National Assembly
Posted November 3, 2022 9:48 am.
Last Updated November 3, 2022 11:13 am.
Québec solidaire (QS) says their 11 MNAs will swear an oath to King Charles III, so they can sit in the National Assembly when it resumes Nov. 29.
The news came Thursday in a press release by QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois who says his party is not in favour of the oath and considers it unnecessary and archaic.
This, after the province’s governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) said on Wednesday that it was willing to make the constitutionally required oath optional for members of the legislature.
CAQ house leader Simon Jolin-Barrette said the government was ready to move quickly and introduce a bill that would allow members to sit without swearing an oath of office to King Charles III.
Nadeau-Dubois says QS will table a new bill to make the oath optional, but to introduce it, deputies must be present at the National Assembly. And in turn, to do that, they have to pledge allegiance to the Crown.
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On Tuesday, National Assembly President François Paradis ruled the oath to the King was mandatory and could only be abolished by a bill.
The 11 members of QS and the three members of the Parti Québécois (PQ), elected Oct. 3, refused to swear the loyalty oath last month and only swore their allegiance to the people of Quebec.
Nadeau-Dubois says it’s necessary to introduce a bill because QS doesn’t trust the CAQ and the Quebec Liberal Party to do the work. And he’s made a commitment to work with PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to resolve the issue.
The PQ had previously called for the adoption of a motion that would give its three MNAs the right to sit in Parliament. As of Thursday, the PQ had not yet reversed its decision to shun the oath to the Crown.
With files from The Canadian Press
