OATH IS REQUIRED, LIKE IT OR NOT
PQ leader should be focusing on health care and education
Some jobs have specific requirements; often they are non-negotiable. So, for example, you cannot expect to be a lawyer if you refuse to write the Bar exam. Similarly, you cannot be a cardiologist if you refuse to do a residency. That's not how it works.
In the same thread, if you wish to run for Parliament or a provincial legislature in Canada, you must be prepared to swear allegiance to King Charles III if you win. The requirement is written into our Constitution.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-pierre Plamondon is choosing not to get the memo. Having won in the Montreal riding of Camille-laurin on Oct. 3, he is scheduled to be sworn into office next week. However, he refuses to pledge allegiance to the King.
St-pierre Plamondon stated several times during the campaign that he would not take an oath to a foreign crown. Here's the thing with that: you cannot make up your own rules while campaigning. St-pierre Plamondon repeated Tuesday that he would not betray an undertaking he made to Quebec voters. He also stated that two other members of the PQ caucus, Pascal Bérubé and Joël Arseneau, would join him in refusing to swear an oath to the Crown. The fact is, he should never have made that undertaking to start with. Also, like it or not, the British Crown is not merely foreign, but also ours.
So, this is the uproar he has chosen to start his mandate with. Fanning indignation about what many — and not only sovereigntists — may see as an archaic practice may seem like picking low-hanging fruit. But it looks an awful lot like a kid throwing a tantrum. There are rules to follow. If you want the job, follow the rules, simple as that.
St-pierre Plamondon said (concerning swearing allegiance to King Charles III), “The absurdity of this ritual has gone on long enough,” but the only thing I find absurd is that he would want to run for office, knowing that being sworn in is a prerequisite for taking his seat, then make a fuss about it.
The Oath of Allegiance also makes up the first portion of the Oath of Citizenship, which is a requirement for obtaining Canadian nationality. I get that we live in Quebec, and there are sovereigntist political parties that wish to see Quebec separate from the rest of Canada. However, until or unless that happens — or until further notice (and good luck with any efforts to change the Constitution) — newly elected members of the National Assembly will just have to deal, as their predecessors have up until now.
Back in 2018, members of the Parti Québécois reportedly took the oath to Queen Elizabeth II but added the words “until Quebec is independent.” That was the same year Québec solidaire members — who also are sovereigntists — took their oath behind closed doors without cameras present. It has yet to be determined what options will be available to St-pierre Plamondon and others who are refusing to pledge allegiance. But one way or another, the oath must be taken. The Constitution seems clear.
These are precisely the types of politics we don't need. We're emerging from a global pandemic. There is no shortage of work for our elected officials to focus on to help restore our province to a better version of itself. I would love to see St-pierre Plamondon fight to improve our health-care system, our education system and remedy debilitating staff shortages across industries with the same zest with which he is making pledging allegiance to King Charles III an issue. In politics as in life, you've got to prioritize.