The National Assembly is about to get rid of the oath to the Crown for good. Minister Jean-François Roberge tabled a bill in the House on Tuesday to make it optional.
This is less than a page and contains two articles. If passed, it would indicate in the Constitution Act of 1867 that Quebec elected officials no longer have to swear allegiance to the king to exercise their functions.
The saga involving the Parti Québécois could therefore end as early as this week. Already, the government has pledged to pass its law “quickly” to allow the three PQ MNAs to sit as soon as possible. Last week, their refusal to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown had resulted in them being blocked at the doors of the Blue Room.
To use the accelerated procedure and apply the effects of the new law this week, the parties represented in the National Assembly must reach a consensus. Last week, only the support of the Liberal Party of Quebec was not assured. However, the acting leader of the formation, Marc Tanguay, practically dispelled all doubts by stating that “if the bill contains exactly what we think, in other words making sure to make the oath to the king optional, it It is clear that we are going to collaborate so that it is adopted quickly”.
This is exactly what the legislative text presented on Tuesday by Mr. Roberge, who is responsible for Democratic Institutions, provides for. “It takes the agreement of all parliamentarians to be able to pass a bill that was tabled the last week of the session,” contented himself with saying his fellow parliamentary leader, Simon Jolin-Barrette, a few minutes before the period of questions to the National Assembly.
Marc Tanguay maintains that his caucus is unanimous in its desire to get rid of the compulsory oath. “The caucus has taken a common position” in this sense, he said Tuesday.
Further details will follow.
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