On November 8th it was reported by CBS that the newly elected Council of the City of Dawson in the Yukon would be abstaining from the legally mandatory Oath of Allegiance following this year’s municipal election.
According to the Yukon Municipal Act, the Oath of Allegiance must be sworn within 40 days of the end of an election. The Dawson City Council’s indefinite refusal to do so is in direct contravention of this Act.
Undertaking this action puts the integrity of the election in jeopardy, potentially forcing the Yukon Director of Community Affairs to nullify the results entirely. Should this come to pass, the City of Dawson would have to hold a by-election, inducing voter fatigue and potentially fuelling distrust in the electoral system.
Dawson City Mayor Stephen Johnston told CBS that the Council’s cited grievance was “basically because of background history with [the] Crown and First Nations in Canada.” This statement demonstrates a clear lack of understanding of the tangible history of Canada’s Indigenous peoples.
The foundations of Aboriginal sovereignty in Canada are based upon the Treaties. These Treaties were signed between the Crown and the Indigenous tribal representatives. Why were these Treaties not signed by the national Parliament? Or the Provinces or Territories? Or the municipal governments?
It is for one simple reason, captured in the wording of many of the Treaties themselves: the promise that their outlines shall be valid “For as long as the sun shines, the grass grows, and the rivers flow”. There is only one institution in Canada that can make this guarantee, one that is not subject to election or partisanship, and that is the Crown.
Canadian history clearly demonstrates that this is true. It has consistently been the case that elected governments have been the ones to attempt to patronise, undermine, or exploit Indigenous people for political purposes. It could be argued that the actions of the Dawson City Council are yet another example of politicians exploiting the concerns of Aboriginal Canadians at the expense of the very people they claim to protect.
This action is merely the thin end of the wedge for the further erosion of the Canadian Monarchy, a hereditary cornerstone of Canadian law that ought to be championed.
Former Premier of Ontario, Mike Harris, put it well in his description of the necessity of the Oath of Allegiance:
“The oath to the Queen is fundamental to the administration of the law in this country. It signifies that, here in Canada, justice is done – not in the name of the prime minister, or the mayor, or the police chief, as in totalitarian nations – but by the people, in the name of the Queen”.
The oath signifies allegiance, not just to the King, but to one’s own principle, and the subjects that His Majesty presides over. As prospective lawmakers, the Dawson City councillors should be expected to know well the gravity of this oath.
Even more worrying is the report from the CBS story that the Yukon Director of Community Affairs, Samantha Crosby, has “been in touch with the councilors to find a solution to avoid having to call a by-election for Dawson City that would result in the councilors and the mayor losing their seats”. This sounds like a compromise that would amount to disenfranchising the Crown and removing a crucial level of accountability in a country already so rife with dishonest politics.
All of this comes in the wake of a federal bill defeated in April that attempted to make the Oath of Allegiance optional for incoming Members of Parliament. The bill was shot down by a cross-partisan vote from both Liberal and Conservative MPs. This bill came attached with much the same negative baggage as the proposed amendment to Yukon Territory’s Municipal Regulation.
It is our duty as Canadian nationalists to nip this in the bud before a precedent is set in English Canada. The Loyalist Assembly of Canada, which I represent, is requesting that Canadians write to the Yukon Director of Community Affairs – either by letter or e-mail – asking them to seriously reconsider this course of action.
The Yukon Director of Community Affairs can be reached at:
E-mail: samantha.crosby@yukon.ca
Address: 308 Steele Street Whitehorse, Y1A 2C5
It is important to highlight that civility and professionalism is of utmost necessity when communicating with government officials, and that being abrasive or threatening is wholly unacceptable behaviour which could result in legal action.
Nevertheless, I encourage readers to be clear that there are potentially disastrous consequences to these proposed alterations, and that the established form of the Oath of Allegiance has promoted unity and accountability in our elected representatives. It is but one necessary piece in Canada’s rich democratic process that must be maintained if we are to sustain the integrity of Canada’s government.
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