New members of the Canadian council refuse to swear allegiance to King Charles

Toronto – Five newly elected council members of a small Canadian town refused to take the oath of allegiance to British King Charles III during an investiture ceremony on Tuesday, despite it being a legal requirement in the northwestern Yukon Territory, where Dawson City is located.

Under the Yukon Municipal Act, elected councilors must swear an oath of allegiance to the British monarch, who remains Canada’s official head of state, even though its ties to the colonial era no longer give the king any real power in the country. .

The oath of allegiance to the monarch is usually taken by Yukon councilors upon taking office, immediately after taking a separate oath within 40 days of their election.

If politicians fail to do so, their election could be declared void, leaving the position vacant and potentially leading to a special election known as a by-election.

Dawson Mayor Steven Johnson told CBS News affiliate CBC News The decision was made collectively by all newly elected council members ahead of Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony in support of one new council member who floated the idea.

“Early this morning, we all received an email from Darwin,” Johnson told CBC News, referring to councilor Darwin Lynn. “And he said that I was hesitant to agree to this mainly because of the past history of the Crown and First Nations in Canada“

Four of the new council members present at Tuesday’s meeting did take the oath of office, and the fifth new member is expected to do so after returning from vacation, according to the regional Yukon News exit. But all five agreed not to take a second oath, swearing allegiance to the British crown.

Yukon communications director Samantha Crosby told CBC it’s rare for an entire group of new council members to collectively refuse to take the Oath of Allegiance. She said she has contacted council members to find a solution to avoid having to hold a special election in Dawson City that would result in council members and the mayor losing their seats.

“The requirement to take or affirm an oath is in the (municipal) law itself, but the prescribed forms are governed by the municipal law,” Crosby told CBC News. “Thus, the language contained in the forms is regulation and not the legislation itself. Making changes to legislation is a very long process, but changing regulation is something that can be done much faster.”

King Charles is the official head of state of a number of former British colonies, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Jamaica and many other countries of the so-called Commonwealth. However, he and his family have faced growing criticism from Indigenous communities around the world, highlighting the complex relationship between the former colonial power and communities that were exploited and marginalized during the building of the 19th century British Empire.

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In October the king Charles criticized by Australian lawmaker during a visit to the country and was accused of complicity in the genocide of the country’s indigenous peoples.

Senator Lydia Thorpe, a vocal advocate for Indigenous rights who has previously spoken out against the British royal family, approached the king in the Australian Parliament House after he gave a speech and shouted at him: “This is not your country!”

“You committed genocide against our people. Give us back our land. Give us back what you stole from us – our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people,” Thorpe shouted at Charles and Queen Camilla as they sat on stage next to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

A source close to the king and queen told CBS News after the incident that while Charles “understands there is always debate around the role of the monarch, he firmly believes this is an issue for the Australian people to decide.”

Based on the results of September 2022 death of Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth IIA poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute found that a majority of Canadians (52%) oppose recognizing Charles as head of state and favor severing Canada’s official ties to the monarchy.

Earlier this year, Canada’s Member of Parliament from New Brunswick introduced a bill to change the country’s constitution to make the oath of allegiance to the monarch optional. The bill was defeated by a vote of 197 to 113.

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