Swearing-in ceremony: PSPP breaks the oath to the king

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon took advantage of the Parti Québécois swearing-in ceremony to deliver a long plea against the oath to the king, to which he refused to submit, like his colleagues Pascal Bérubé and Joël Arseneau, like the 11 MNAs from Québec solidaire, a little earlier this week.

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As expected, the three PQ MNAs took only one oath, “our sincere oath to the people of Quebec,” said the PQ leader.

« Words have a meaning », recalled the deputy for Camille-Laurin, stressing that an « oath has a real meaning, (…) a meaning to our political commitment ».

« To take an oath is to put your soul on the line, » said writer Ken Follet, « said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.

The PQ leader denounced this “straitjacket which condemns each Quebec elected official to hypocrisy” by forcing them to swear true allegiance to King Charles III.

« A straitjacket that forces Democrats of all parties to take an oath in which they do not believe, » he lamented.

As was the case during the swearing-in ceremony of Québec solidaire, for lack of having taken an oath to the British monarch, the elected members of the Parti Québécois were not invited to sign the register of deputies.

It also remains to be seen whether all the parties represented in the National Assembly will find a way through to allow the deputies of the PQ and QS to sit in the Blue Room.

Loaded with emotions

The leader of the Parti Québécois acknowledged that the ceremony, for him and his colleagues, was « charged with emotion ».

Among other things when the PQ leader underlined the commitment of his two colleagues. In particular, he underlined the « unwavering loyalty » of MP Pascal Bérubé to the PQ. “I’ve already told you that you’re a bit of a modern-day patriot, I think so,” Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon told him.

« If your role as parliamentary leader formally ends today, said the PQ leader, your role of being the credible, rigorous face of the Parti Québécois, the one who sets the record straight in health, in defense of the regions , in transport and in so many other files, […] I think today it is widening. »

Among the guests present, the long-time former PQ MP François Gendron did not hide the fact that seeing only three elected officials be sworn in “hurts” him.

“It’s clear, but at the same time, am I really surprised when we were buried (several times). […] I have attended the PQ funeral about 15 times,” observed Mr. Gendron, who sees it as the result of “conditioning of public opinion by the media.”

• Listen to Mario Dumont’s interview with Joël Arseneau, MP for Îles-de-la-Madeleine for the Parti Québécois QUB-radio :