Quebec to make oath to King optional for MNAs

Quebec's Coalition Avenir Quebec government tabled a bill Tuesday that would make the oath to the monarch optional for members of the provincial legislature.

Jean-Francois Roberge, the minister responsible for democratic institutions, got a standing ovation from his colleagues as he introduced the bill in Quebec City.

The purpose of the legislation is to abolish the requirement for elected officials to swear an oath to the King before they can take their seats in the legislature.

To do so, the bill adds to the Constitution Act of 1867 a section exempting Quebec from the application of the section that requires the oath, Roberge said.

Roberge previously said that once the bill is adopted, members will only be required to swear loyalty to the people of Quebec and to the Constitution.

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.

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.

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