Town council in Canada halted following refusal to take King’s oath
A Canadian town council has come to a standstill after a refusal from a newly elected member to pledge allegiance to King Charles III, a requirement during the swearing-in ceremony.
Stephen Johnson, the mayor-elect of Dawson City in Yukon Territory, and the new council won last month’s election. They were due to be sworn in but the process has reached a standstill after they refused to take the oath. The refusal, according to Johnson, is in solidarity with an indigenous member of the council who had expressed concerns regarding the history between the Crown and the native people of Canada.
Under Yukon law, any newly elected official is required to take the oath within 40 days of their election. Failing to do so would mean their election victory “shall be considered null.” As a result, Johnson and the other members of the town council have until the 9th of December to take the Oath of Allegiance.
Canada is a Commonwealth country and a former British colony. As such, elected officials are required to affirm that they “will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III,” and “heirs and successors according to law.”
Meanwhile, the newly elected council is unable to govern or make any official decisions before the matter has been resolved.
The town council has asked the provincial officials of Yukon if an alternative oath could be taken. A spokesperson for the province’s Department of Community Services told the BBC that the request has been received, but has not commented on whether or not it will be granted.
“This is being done with no disrespect to His Majesty King Charles,” Johnson said to Canadian journalists. “And also we’re not doing this to go, ‘Rah, rah, look at us,’ to poke everybody across Canada, to get rid of the Crown. It was just something we wanted to do together to show solidarity in what we do here in this town.”
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