Parti Quebecois MNAs refuse to swear oath to King as legislature opens; will not sit
The 43rd session of Quebec's national assembly opened Tuesday without three of its members after the Parti Quebecois MNAs refused to swear the oath of office to King Charles III.
Consequently, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, and MNAs Pascal Berube and Joel Arseneau can not take their places in the 125-seat legislature.
Plamondon said his caucus won't swear the "humiliating" oath, adding that they will try to enter the national assembly on Thursday.
"We continue to believe that this oath is archaic and has no place," the party said in a news release.
To sit, elected members must take two oaths of loyalty: one is to the people Quebec and the other to the King, as required by the Canadian Constitution.
Outgoing Speaker Francois Paradis ruled in November that all elected members must take the oath to the King or risk being expelled from the legislature.
On Tuesday, St-Pierre Plamondon called on newly appointed Speaker Nathalie Roy to reconsider her predecessor's position on the matter.
TWO BILLS ON THE OATH
On Thursday, Quebec Solidaire plans to introduce a bill to make the oath to the King optional, while House Leader Simon Jolin-Barrette said the CAQ will introduce a bill next week.
Jolin-Barrette said there is no competition between the two bills, even though they deal with the same subject. Since the government's bill will not be tabled until next week, though, there may not be enough time to pass it during the shortened eight-day session.
"It is our hope that it will be passed before Christmas," Jolin-Barrette added.
ROY TO SERVE AS SPEAKER
CAQ Premier Francois Legault on Tuesday appointed Montarville MNA Roy to succeed Paradis.
Roy served as culture minister in the last term, and would become the second-ever female president of the assembly, joining Parti Quebecois MNA Louise Harel, who served briefly in the position in 2002.
In addition, Conservative Party of Quebec leader Eric Duhaime has said he should be given a permanent place in the national assembly. He said he will send a letter to Roy asking for special status as his party received 13 per cent of the vote (over half a million votes), but did not have an MNA elected.
NEW LOOK ASSEMBLY
There will be 37 new MNAs out of the 125 that took their seats Tuesday, including the new PQ leader and eight new ministers.
With 90 MNAs (up from 74), the CAQ is even stronger than it was in 2018. Forty-one of the record 57 female MNAs in the 125-seat parliament will be in the CAQ benches.
Former Liberal leader Dominique Anglade will, however, not be among the new ranks after stepping down shortly after her party's crushing defeat on Oct. 3.
DEMONSTRATIONS OUTSIDE
The PQ led two demonstrations in front of the national assembly on Tuesday.
The first took place at noon in favour of electoral reform. The PQ has been vocal about the electoral system in the province that saw the party win just three seats despite getting 14.6 per cent of the vote.
The second took place at 1 p.m. against the mandatory King's oath.
- With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.