Parti Québécois caucus members swear allegiance to ‘the people of Quebec’ — not the King

OTTAWA — Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and the 58 members of the Parti Québécois caucus did not pledge allegiance to King Charles III at the swearing-in ceremony for the incoming PQ government on Thursday.

Instead, they pledged their loyalty to “the people of Quebec” — something that is technically possible to do under a provincial law that was adopted four years ago in the National Assembly of Quebec, but that constitutional lawyers remain skeptical about.

St-Pierre Plamondon entered the red room of the legislature to thunderous applause from his caucus and guests who were chanting for Quebec to become a country only moments before. The premier-elect looked visibly emotional.

“I, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, solemnly declare that I will be loyal to the people of Quebec and that I will perform my duties as a Member of the National Assembly with honesty and justice, in accordance with the Constitution of Quebec,” he said.

One by one, members of his caucus repeated the same phrase to be sworn in as MNAs.

Quebec’s Lieutenant-Governor Manon Jeannotte was nowhere in sight during the swearing-in ceremony. St-Pierre Plamondon has vowed to strip her office’s funding, instead dedicating those funds to fight homelessness in the province.

The National Assembly adopted a law in December 2022 that made swearing an oath to the King optional after the PQ members — including St-Pierre Plamondon — were temporarily barred from taking their seats in the legislature for refusing to do just that.

Philippe Lagassé, a professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University who is an expert in the Westminster system, said the constitutionality of the act remains “unclear” but is being challenged in court.

Last week, Lawrence David, a professor at the University of Ottawa’s faculty of law and president and founder of the Public Interest Litigation Institute, filed an application in Quebec Superior Court for an injunction to force MNAs to swear the oath to the King.

David and the Public Interest Litigation Institute had already filed a lawsuit seeking to restore the oath in August. But given the urgency of the situation with a PQ government promising to abolish the monarchy, he sought an injunction the day after the election.

The hearing is expected to be held sometime between Oct. 19 and Nov. 9.

David claims that MNAs who do not take the oath to the King are not constitutionally authorized to sit in the National Assembly or to pass any laws.

Lagassé noted that the federal Department of Justice seems to have accepted the constitutionality of the Quebec law prima facie, as has its provincial government.

“However, we don’t know if that is the case yet, since it has not been tested before the courts. And I would say that there is a strong view amongst experts of the Constitution that this is likely not constitutional,” said the professor.

Even Governor General Louise Arbour has expressed skepticism, in recent public comments made to Radio-Canada, about MNAs refusing to swear allegiance to the monarchy, saying that Canada operates within a constitutional framework.

She added that St-Pierre Plamondon, as a lawyer, is well-aware of this reality.

Constitutional or not, the option to swear to the King or not crosses party lines. Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard told FM93 radio that he does not intend to swear allegiance to the King while saying he does not want a “monarchical crisis” in Canada.

The swearing-in ceremonies for opposition MNAs should take place next week, as will St-Pierre Plamondon’s swearing-in as premier and of his members of cabinet.

Lagassé said the PQ’s decision to cast aside the lieutenant-governor will be even more interesting when forming cabinet, since members of the Executive Council — the Quebec equivalent of the Privy Council — are effectively advisors to the Crown.

“So, it’ll be interesting to see if they go out of their way to have a separate public ceremony, and then secretly do all their oaths with the lieutenant-governor behind closed doors. It’s entirely possible,” he said.

Lagassé said there are lots of things the incoming PQ government can do to reduce the symbolism of the lieutenant-governor’s office such as kicking her out of her office or cutting her budget, but the federal government can always swoop in to help.

Lagassé said he doesn’t think a PQ government would necessarily object to that, because they still need the lieutenant-governor to do certain things like sign bills into law.

“But if, symbolically, they don’t want to fund it, but then the federal government comes and backfills it and allows them to have an office somewhere and allows them to still have a small office, in a way they’d be able to have their cake and eat it too.”

— With files from Kalina Laframboise, Montreal Gazette

National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.