Positions of Other Parties
The Parti Marxiste-Léniniste du Québec (PMLQ) is calling on Quebeckers to call on all the elected members of the National Assembly to refuse to swear an oath to King Charles III, or a modified oath to the “Head of State,” to the Canadian Constitution or to anything other than the people of Quebec and the voters who have mandated them. It is a matter of national dignity and of acting in a manner befitting a modern society, the PMLQ points out.
According to the PMLQ, attempts to modify the oath to the King to an oath to the “Head of State” are unacceptable as they hide precisely what the current head of the Canadian state represents, namely a constitutional order that places decision-making power beyond the reach of the people. The procedures that require elected officials to swear an oath to a system that places the decision-making power above the people and above elected officials are designed in a manner that keeps this precise fact hidden.
Québec solidaire (QS), which has 11 MNA’s in the National Assembly, “will not swear allegiance to the British Crown if the official request of the Parti Québécois [to only swear allegiance to the people of Québec] is accepted by the National Assembly. Having tried it before, however, the Québec solidaire spokesperson doubts the PQ approach [will succeed],” writes the Journal de Québec about QS’s position.
QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is quoted: “If it is possible, of course we want to avoid it. It’s important for me to point out that Mr. Plamondon’s approach, although I completely respect it, has already been attempted by Québec solidaire. There are several sovereigntist MNAs since the 1970s who tried to do what Mr. Plamondon did. And unfortunately, the institution that is the National Assembly, no matter who governed it, remained very firm on this issue. We learned this ourselves the hard way.”
In 2018, a law was tabled by QS entitled: An Act to recognize the Members’ oath to the people of Québec as the sole oath required for Members to take office, Bill 192, that recognized the oath as the only compulsory oath when MNAs are sworn in. It provided that the National Assembly establishes the oath that the Members must take to be able to sit in the Assembly and that it alone has the authority to designate the person who may administer the oath. The Quebec Liberal Party refused to provide all-party support to the Bill so it could be fast tracked before the end of the June 2022 session ended.
Marc Danis, a spokesperson for Coalition Avenir Québec that forms government, said getting rid of the oath to the King is “really not a priority for Quebecers. Our MNAs are looking forward to being sworn in, in order to begin working on behalf of citizens,” he said.