Québec solidaire (QS) announced Thursday that its 11 deputies will finally take the oath to King Charles III in order to be able to enter the National Assembly on November 29.
The parliamentary leader of Quebec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, explains in a press release that his political party is not in favor of the oath to the king, a commitment that he considers useless and archaic.
Moreover, from the start of the Salon Bleu, the party will table a new bill to make this oath optional. To be able to table it, the deputies must be present in the National Assembly. However, the oath is required to be admitted, which explains the decision of QS to complete the swearing in of its deputies before the start of the school year on November 29.
Last Tuesday, the president of the National Assembly, François Paradis, affirmed that the oath to the king was obligatory and that only a bill could abolish it. He added that the QS and Parti Québécois (PQ) deputies risked expulsion from the Blue Room and the committee rooms if they persisted in not completing their swearing-in.
Even though he is no longer a member, Mr. Paradis will continue to preside over the Assembly until the person who will succeed him will be named on November 29.
Mr. Paradis’ decision disappoints Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, but it seems to him clear and without appeal. It is necessary, he explains, to adopt a bill, because Québec solidaire does not trust the two federalist parties to do this work.
The parliamentary leader of QS assures that he will use all parliamentary means at his disposal to put an end to the obligation to take the oath to the king, which he describes as illegitimate. He also made a commitment to the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, to work with him to resolve the impasse.
On social networks this week, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon wrote that the decision of the outgoing president of the National Assembly was a political order from the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ).
The PQ had previously demanded the adoption of a motion that would give the right to its three deputies to sit in Parliament. As of Thursday, the PQ had not yet reconsidered its decision to shun the oath to the Crown.
CAQ House Leader Simon Jolin-Barrette said Wednesday that his government favored the rapid passage of legislation to make the oath to the king optional for MPs.