3 Parti Québécois MNAs refuse constitutionally required oath to King
Following Québec Solidaire, PQ members swear oath only to people of Quebec
Members of a second Quebec opposition party have refused to swear allegiance to King Charles III, as required by the Canadian Constitution.
The three Parti Québécois members elected to the province's legislature earlier this month took an oath of loyalty to the people of Quebec, but not to the monarch, as they were sworn in Friday morning.
Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says it doesn't make sense to swear allegiance to both the people of Quebec and to a person he considers a foreign monarch, adding that swearing the oath would be a form of perjury.
"An oath has real meaning," St-Pierre Plamondon told the audience of friends, families and other guests in the Red Room. "Who would want to live in a world without meaning … a world where promises can be broken?"
Members of all provincial legislatures and the federal Parliament are required to swear an oath to the Crown before taking office, while the second oath to the people of Quebec is required under provincial law.
Earlier this week, the 11 members of Québec Solidaire — which, like the PQ, supports Quebec sovereignty — also refused to swear allegiance to the King.
Constitutional scholars differ on whether the Quebec legislature has the power to allow members to participate in legislative debates and votes without taking the oath.