QUEBEC — The three Parti Québécois members who have steadfastly refused to swear the oath of office to King Charles III found themselves on the outside looking in Tuesday as Quebec’s legislature reopened without them.
Since winning their seats in the Oct. 3 election, the three-member PQ caucus has been taking a stand against what it says is the “humiliating” oath to the King. The 122 other members of the legislature have all taken the oath.
As the assembly reopened Tuesday for the first time since the election, PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters he and his two colleagues will attempt to enter the legislature later in the week.
“We find that … to humble ourselves to the point of perjuring ourselves for the King of (Canada), this is not acceptable as there are solutions,” St-Pierre Plamondon said.
To sit, elected Quebec members must take two oaths of loyalty: one to the Quebec people and another — as required by the Canadian Constitution — to the King. Outgoing Speaker François Paradis ruled in November that all elected members must take the oath to the King or risk expulsion from the legislature.
The PQ leader called on newly appointed Speaker Nathalie Roy to reconsider her predecessor’s decision.
“We decided not to make a big splash today and simply reached out (to Roy) and said, ‘You have that power, because internal management is entirely up to you, to give a very simple instruction to let us in,’” St-Pierre Plamondon said.
On Tuesday, Roy became the second woman ever to hold the Speaker’s post.
Premier François Legault will deliver his inaugural speech on Wednesday outlining his government’s priorities. Legault told reporters Tuesday he sees two big challenges — creating a “green” economy and stopping the decline of the French language, particularly in Montreal.
St-Pierre Plamondon said his party doesn’t want to create a scene and will wait until after Legault’s speech to try and enter the legislature — known as the Blue Room — and see how the government reacts. St-Pierre Plamondon wouldn’t speculate on what he would do if the sergeant-at-arms refuses to let the PQ caucus inside the room.
Earlier in the day, Québec solidaire co-leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said his party planned to table a bill on Thursday that would make the oath to the King optional, adding that he thought there was a desire among members to move quickly on the file. His party had also refused to swear the oath but relented after Paradis threatened to expel them.
“When you want to change the game, you’ve got to play the game,” Nadeau-Dubois said. “If you want to change an institution, you’ve got to be in that institution to change the rules of that institution.”
Simon Jolin-Barrette, the justice minister and government house leader, has said his party would table a bill next week to make the oath optional. “It is our wish that it be adopted before Christmas,” Jolin-Barrette told reporters.
The legislature will sit for a total of eight days before it wraps on Dec. 9 for the holidays. It is scheduled to reopen at the end of January.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2022.
The Canadian Press
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
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The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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