Yukon council refuses to pledge allegiance to King Charles

Governance successful Yukon’s second-largest municipality has been astatine a standstill since its recently elected politician and assembly refused to pledge allegiance to King Charles during their swearing-in ceremony.

Stephen Johnson, the mayor-elect of Dawson City, said helium and the four-member assembly refused to instrumentality Canada’s authoritative oath to the monarch connected Nov. 5 due to the fact that of the Crown’s past with Indigenous populations.

He said assembly hasn’t been capable to proceed with municipal duties and is eagerly waiting for the territory’s Department of Community Services to respond to its petition to instrumentality an alternate to the Oath of Allegiance.

“We can’t bash thing legally required of america nether the Municipal Act … truthful we are benignant of, benignant of council, and I’m benignant of, benignant of the mayor,” Johnson said.

“It’s a spot of a sticky situation.”

Johnson said nether the Yukon’s Municipal Act, elected officials are required to instrumentality the Oath of Allegiance and an oath of office.

The Oath of Allegiance requires recently elected councillors to curse oregon affirm they “will beryllium faithful and carnivore existent allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III” and his “heirs and successors according to law.”

The enactment says if a idiosyncratic elected to assembly fails to instrumentality the oaths wrong 40 days aft the election, “their predetermination shall beryllium considered null and void and their bureau vacant.”

That means a deadline of astir Dec. 10, said Johnson. He added that the territory has indicated it wants to debar a byelection.

The territory is reviewing council’s petition to curse a antithetic oath, a Community Services spokesperson said successful an email. The spokesperson did not respond to questions astir however the reappraisal is progressing and erstwhile it would beryllium complete.

Johnson said helium and 3 different councillors refused to instrumentality the oath successful solidarity with a 4th councillor, Darwyn Lynn, who expressed hesitancy connected the greeting of their investiture ceremony.

Johnson said Lynn is simply a subordinate of the Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation, connected whose accepted onshore Dawson is located.

Lynn expressed that helium wasn’t comfy pledging allegiance to the Crown owed to its past with Indigenous Peoples, said Johnson, and the assembly decided to enactment him. Lynn did not respond to requests for comment.

“This is being done with nary disrespect to His Majesty King Charles. And besides we’re not doing this to go, ‘Rah, rah, look astatine us,’ to poke everybody crossed Canada, to get escaped of the Crown,” Johnson said.

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“It was conscionable thing we wanted to bash unneurotic to amusement solidarity successful what we bash present successful this town.”

Yukon’s Bureau of Statistics says Dawson City has a colonisation of astir 2,400. The community’s website describes it arsenic the bosom of the world-famous Klondike Gold Rush that began successful 1896.

“News dispersed similar wildfire of a onshore wherever ‘nuggets could beryllium picked disconnected the creek floor’ to a recession suffering satellite and caused an unprecedented stampede of an estimated 100,000 radical to acceptable retired to the Klondike,” the website says.

The Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation says connected its website that miners displaced its community.

This is not the archetypal clip Canada’s leaders person questioned the Oath of Allegiance.

In April, members of Parliament voted to termination a measure introduced by a backstage subordinate successful New Brunswick that would person allowed parliamentarians to opt retired of swearing the oath.

The House of Commons says connected its website that the oath affirms “allegiance to the institutions the Sovereign represents, including the conception of democracy.”

“Thus, members are making a pledge to behaviour themselves successful the champion interests of the country. The oath oregon solemn affirmation reminds members of the superior obligations and responsibilities they are assuming.”

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published Nov. 20, 2024.

— By Fakiha Baig successful Edmonton