The elected council refused to take an oath of allegiance to King Charles III. New regulations make oaths on laws and the constitution possible
Yukon Municipal Act regulations have been changed, allowing new councilors to swear an oath of allegiance to the Canadian Constitution instead of the British Crown – if they wish.
The changes were announced at a press conference in Whitehorse on November 29. In attendance were Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn and newly elected Dawson City Councilor Darwyn Lynn.
Darwyn Lynn, a member of Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, and the rest of the Dawson council initially declined to take the oath of allegiance after being elected. The oath pledges allegiance to King Charles III and his heirs and successors.
Lynn told reporters that he had read the first oath fifteen times and that it did not seem any easier to take.
“I think given the history that the Crown has had in Canada and other places, I thought there might be another option,” Lynn said.
According to municipal law, council members must take the oath of office and the oath of allegiance within forty days of their election. Council members will have to take the oath before December 9.
If they don’t meet that deadline, midterm elections will be held. The addition of another option for the Pledge of Allegiance will allow Dawson councilors to take the oath before the deadline.
According to Mostyn, the cabinet decided on November 28 to amend the regulation.
Samantha Crosby, the director of community affairs, specified that while the legislation takes longer to change, regulations within the legislation – such as those relating to the oath of allegiance – can be changed quickly.
“We have not done any major public consultation. Should we have done that? If we had done that, we would have lost the election in Dawson, and we, personally, did not want to risk a free and fair election in Dawson and force everyone to have to go through it again.” Mostyn said.
Mostyn said they did not need to contact anyone within the monarchy to make this change. Mostyn also said Ontario and Quebec are the other two jurisdictions in Canada with an alternative pledge.
No set date has been set for the swearing-in, but Lynn indicated he would prefer the ceremony to take place in Dawson. He said he hoped to do the ceremony before the Dec. 3 council meeting.
Mostyn also said a change to the oaths required by MLAs has been discussed by Cabinet.
“We have now recognized that we may need to look at the way we take oaths of allegiance within our governments, and I know the Yukon government will look at that as well.”
Contact Talar Stockton at [email protected]