TORONTO — The five recently elected councilors of a small Canadian town will now be legally able to take the oath of allegiance to Britain’s King Charles III at an inauguration ceremony Tuesday in the northwestern Yukon Territory, where Dawson City is located. Despite being required to do so, he refused.
Under the Yukon Municipal Act, elected councilors are required to swear an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. The British monarch remains Canada’s official head of state, even though colonial ties no longer vest the monarch with real power in the country. .
The oath of allegiance to the monarch is normally taken when Yukon’s members take the oath of office, immediately after a separate oath of office, and within 40 days of election.
If a politician fails to do so, the election may be declared invalid, which may result in the office becoming vacant and a special election known as a by-election being held.
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Dawson Mayor Stephen Johnson told CBS News Partner Network’s CBC News that the decision was made in support of one new councilor who brought up the idea before Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony, and all newly elected city council members. He said the decision was made jointly.
“We all got an email early in the morning, and it was from Darwin,” Johnson told CBC News, referring to city councilor Darwin Linn. “And he said the reason I was hesitant to sign this was basically because of my background.” History with Canada’s Royal Family and First Nations. ”
According to local Yukon News, four of the new councilors who attended Tuesday’s meeting were sworn in, and a fifth new councilor is expected to take the oath of office after returning from vacation. However, all five agreed not to take any other oaths and pledged allegiance to the British Crown.
Samantha Crosby, Yukon’s director of community affairs, told CBC it was unusual for an entire group of new MPs to collectively refuse to take the oath of allegiance. She said she has been in touch with councilors to find a solution that would avoid having to hold a special election in Dawson City and avoid the councilors and mayor losing their seats.
“The requirements for swearing or affirming are in the (city) law itself, but the prescribed format is regulated by the city law,” Crosby told CBC News. “That means the language in the form is a regulation and not part of the actual law. Changing a law is a very long process, but changing a regulation is a much longer process. It can be done quickly.”
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King Charles is the official head of state of many former British colonies, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Jamaica, and many other so-called Commonwealth countries. But he and his family have faced growing criticism from indigenous communities around the world, highlighting the complex relationship between former colonial powers and communities that were exploited and marginalized to build the British Empire in the 19th century. I’m doing it.
The king is in October Charles was heckled by an Australian MP. During his visit to the country, he was accused of complicity in the genocide of the country’s indigenous people.
Senator Lydia Thorpe, who has been a vocal advocate of Indigenous rights and previously slammed the British monarchy, approached the King in Australian Parliament House after giving a speech and told him: “This is not your country.” ” he yelled.
“You have 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. please,” Thorpe shouted to Prince Charles and Queen Camilla, who were sitting on the stage next to him. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
A source close to the King and Queen told CBS News after the incident that Prince Charles “understands there will always be debate about the role of the King, but he firmly believes it is a matter for the Australian people to decide.” he said.
After September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II, mother of Prince Charles, passes away.A poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute found that a majority of Canadians (52%) oppose recognizing Charles as head of state and support severing Canada’s formal ties to the monarchy. It was suggested that.
Earlier this year, a Canadian member of Parliament from New Brunswick introduced a constitutional amendment that would make the oath of allegiance to the monarch optional. The bill was rejected by a vote of 197-113.
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