Quebec’s National Assembly resumes without members of PQ who refused oath to King
Posted November 29, 2022 8:33 am.
Last Updated November 29, 2022 4:41 pm.
The National Assembly resumed in Quebec City Tuesday, as Premier François Legault and the Coalition Avenir Québec settled in for a second mandate.
It’s the 43rd legislature. As expected Nathalie Roy, the Montarville CAQ MNA, was appointed speaker of the house.
Roy became only the second female president ever. The first was Louise Harel, a Parti Québécois MNA, who served briefly in the position in 2002.
READ MORE: Nathalie Roy running for presidency of the National Assembly
Roy previously served as culture minister for the CAQ in their last term.
Quebec Culture and Communications Minister Nathalie Roy speaks at a news conference, Thursday, June 10, 2021 in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
PQ members barred from legislature
The three recently elected members of the PQ found themselves on the outside looking in today as Quebec’s legislature reopened without them.
The PQ members have refused to swear the oath of office to King Charles III since the October election, and as a consequence have been barred from taking their seats in the 125-seat legislature.
PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters Tuesday his three-member caucus won’t swear the “humiliating” oath, adding that they will try to enter the legislature on Thursday by walking up to the blue room and simply asking to be let in to sit in the National Assembly.
To sit, elected members must take two oaths of loyalty, one to the Quebec people and the other to the King, as required by the Canadian Constitution.
BACKGROUND: Province says it is ready to make oath of office to the King optional
Outgoing Speaker Francois Paradis ruled in November that all elected members must take the oath to the King or risk expulsion from the legislature.
St-Pierre Plamondon called on newly appointed Speaker Nathalie Roy to reconsider her predecessor’s decision.
“We continue to believe that this oath is archaic and has no place,” the PQ said in a press release.
—With files from The Canadian Press
