It's official, the oath to the king is optional

The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

Elected officials will no longer have to take an oath to the King of the United Kingdom to sit in the National Assembly. The bill to make the oath to the British crown optional was passed unanimously this afternoon.

The three deputies of the Parti Québécois (PQ) will therefore be able to sit at the opening of the next parliamentary session on January 31. The latter were blocked from entering the Blue Room during the autumn session, which ended today, for refusing to take the oath to Charles III.

The bill 4, tabled by the Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions, Jean-François Roberge, will come into force when it is sanctioned by the Lieutenant-Governor. A formality.

The law amends the Constitution Act of 1867, by exempting Quebec from the application of section 128, which provides for the oath to the British crown.