With four weeks to go before Quebec MNAs begin the new parliamentary session, a judge heard arguments Tuesday on a legal challenge that would force the lawmakers to swear an oath to the King. A Quebec law passed in 2022, known as Law 4, made the mandatory oath to the British monarchy an optional requirement for the MNAs to take their seat at the National Assembly. But a legal group that challenged the law and filed an injunction says it is unconstitutional and should be temporarily suspended. The Attorney General of Quebec is contesting the injunction. During a hearing Tuesday, one of the arguments put forward by the government’s lawyers is that the parties challenging the law do not have standing in the case. The injunction was filed by Lawrence David, a University of Ottawa law professor and lawyer; a legal group founded by David called the Public Interest Litigation Institute; and Consumer Law Group, a Montreal-based law firm. During oral arguments in Superior Court, government lawyer Michel Déom took aim at David’s grounds to launch the injunction, since he lives in Ontario, telling the judge, “there are no Quebec residents contesting this [law].” “The case before you, at first glance, involves a group that does not represent anyone. These are entities that essentially consist of Mr. David and … certain employees,” the lawyer said. “As far as I can tell, they are not here to defend the interests of individuals who are unable to bring before the court the issues that directly affect them.” Marie Couture-Clouâtre, another lawyer for the Attorney General’s office, also argued that the injunction should be dismissed because there is no evidence showing that, since the law was adopted, there has been an impact on the functioning of the Quebec government — MNAs can still participate in committee work and pass laws, she said. The parties that launched the legal challenge have also not demonstrated any harm done to the Quebec population to justify the injunction request, she added. “I have no declaration concerning people who are affected by the theory put forward [by the applicants],” said Couture-Clouâtre, adding that Law 4 was adopted unanimously by MNAs in 2022. ‘Time to act is now,’ lawyer says David, in his rebuttal, argued that the law only requires a “genuine interest” in a case to request an injunction and that law firms are within their rights to initiate legal challenges. “How can it be that, well, just because a person doesn’t reside [here], they cannot challenge? Again, that’s nowhere found in the jurisprudence,” David argued. According to David, the oath is a constitutional requirement for anyone elected to a Canadian legislature, including Quebec’s National Assembly, and a provincial legislature cannot unilaterally amend the Constitution to abolish it. The judge should grant the injunction on an urgent basis because the parliamentary session is scheduled to start on Nov. 17 and any future laws passed by politicians who have not sworn an oath to the King would be invalid and have no legal effect, he said. “The time to act is now,” David said. “The remedy we are seeking for the interim stay is the suspension of Law 4 to ensure that on November 17, the assembly is lawfully constituted. That cannot be remedied on the merits. The merits judgment will be many years from now. There will be appeals on many levels, so we will not be able to go back in time and say, well, the assembly was unlawfully constituted on November 17.” By allowing the legislature to abolish the mandatory oath to the King, “politicians undermine the status and role of the King as the head of state of Canada and Quebec,” he added. The judge told the court that he will render a judgment at a later date. Tuesday’s hearing comes as Quebec’s new premier, Paul St. Pierre Plamondon, has taken steps to strip the monarchy in Quebec. At his request, the lieutenant-governor of Quebec, Manon Jeannotte, has agreed to not participate in the swearing-in of his cabinet on Wednesday. The government’s general secretary will instead preside over the ceremony, and Jeannotte will sign appointment documents at her office immediately after. Last week, all 59 members of the Parti Québécois, which formed a minority government after winning the Oct. 5 general election, were sworn in at the National Assembly by swearing an oath to the people of Quebec. The 40-member caucus of the Quebec Liberal Party, which forms the official opposition, also swore an oath to the people of Quebec on Monday. St. Pierre Plamondon had pledged during the election campaign to abolish the monarchy in Quebec and stop the province’s funding of the lieutenant-governor’s office. With files from The Canadian Press
