If they refuse to take the oath to King Charles III. The President of the National Assembly has just decided to take off if the Solidarity and PQ deputies could be expelled from the Blue Hall.
The elected representatives of Québec solidaire and the Parti Québécois have refused to swear allegiance to the British Crown in recent weeks, preferring to take the oath only to the Quebec people.
The two parties are counting on negotiations with the other political parties in the National Assembly to begin tomorrow to find a way without submitting to this requirement of the Canadian Constitution.
In a letter addressed to all political parties, the outgoing President of the National Assembly, François Paradis, wrote: “In this context, the Presidency does not have the power to exempt a deputy from a constitutional obligation and cannot consider admissible any request that would allow it would evade that obligation”.
“Furthermore, and so that all MPs clearly understand the implications of this decision, I give formal orders to the Sergeant-at-Arms to ensure that this decision is applied in such a way that the MPs who have not taken the oath are not can take their place in the plenary hall of the National Assembly or in one of its committees. If anyone refuses to comply with this prohibition, the Sergeant-at-Arms has the authority to expel them,” the president wrote.
The inflexible PQ
On the Parti Québécois side, we have tried to minimize the scope of François Paradis’ opinion in this file. “That’s his opinion,” launched Pascal Bérubé in an interview with LCN. We have twelve very specific legal opinions, the CAQ has none.”
The MP from Matane-Matapédia also believes that François Paradis is showing partiality in this decision, which he describes as “a mission ordered for his colleagues by the CAQ”.
The three elected members of the PQ still have no plans to take the oath to the king, despite the prospect of not being able to sit in the National Assembly. “We will not give up and stand,” said Pascal Bérubé.
– In collaboration with Agence QMI and Alain Laforest
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