3 Parti Qubcois MNAs refuse constitutionally required oath to King

Members of a second Quebec opposition party haverefused to swear allegiance to King Charles III, as required by the Canadian Constitution.

The three Parti Qubcoismembers elected to the province's legislature earlier this month tookan oath of loyalty to the people of Quebec, but not to the monarch, as they weresworn in Fridaymorning.

Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says it doesn't make sense to swear allegiance to both the people of Quebec and to a personhe considers a foreign monarch, adding that swearing the oath would be a form of perjury.

"An oath has real meaning," St-Pierre Plamondon told the audience of friends, families and other guests in the Red Room. "Who would want to live in a world without meaning a world where promises can be broken?"

Members of all provincial legislatures and the federal Parliament are required to swear an oath to the Crown before taking office, while the second oath to the people of Quebec is required under provincial law.