In a recent development, a constitutional lawyer has taken urgent legal action to compel the incoming Parti Québécois administration to pledge allegiance to King Charles. The emergency injunction was submitted in the Quebec Superior Court by the Public Interest Litigation Institute, led by Lawrence David. David emphasized that political parties, regardless of their affiliations, must adhere to the laws governing democratic institutions in Canada. He stressed the importance of upholding the law applicable to governments to ensure compliance.
The injunction seeks to immediately halt a provincial law from 2022 that rendered the oath to the monarch optional for members of the National Assembly. This legal move follows the Parti Québécois’ victory in Monday’s election. Premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has expressed intentions to reduce funding to the office of Quebec’s lieutenant-governor within the initial 100 days of assuming power in a bid to eliminate the monarchy in the province.
According to the lawsuit, failure of newly elected MNAs to take the oath to the King could render them constitutionally ineligible to serve in the legislative body. It warns that any legislation enacted by an unlawfully constituted assembly, particularly one aiming to abolish the lieutenant governor, would be invalid, potentially triggering an unprecedented legal quandary.
The case is slated to be heard in a Montreal court on Friday morning. Should the injunction be granted, MNAs would be mandated to take the oath before assuming their roles. The National Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on November 17. Legal expert Karine Millaire, an associate professor at the Université de Montréal specializing in constitutional law, noted that the emergency injunction was foreseeable given the ongoing constitutional challenge to the 2022 law in court. Millaire highlighted that the burden rests on the applicants to present substantial legal arguments.
She underscored the possibility of the monarchy debates leading to a constitutional crisis, a scenario she deemed undesirable.
