COUNCIL NOT DUMPING OATH TO KING CHARLES

The transition from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III has led many municipalities to re-examine their relationship with the monarch, but so far, Port Colborne has not jumped on the bandwagon to dump the Oath of Allegiance to the king.

Initially sparked by a request from the tiny town of Prescott (just south of Ottawa) to have the province amend the municipal oath of office, more and more municipalities are following suit and seeking to either remove the oath to the king entirely or make it optional.

The oath of allegiance to the king is particularly troublesome when it comes to Indigenous members of council, who have a more strained relationship with the monarchy.

With that in mind, Ward 4 Coun. Ron Bodner proposed during the March 14 council meeting that the city support the movement to at least make the oath more inclusive to the Indigenous community.

"Most municipalities have a (Indigenous) land acknowledgment," said Bodner, who noted that it

then makes sense to adjust Port Colborne's own pledge in order to "get the Oath of Office to be more in line with what we do with the land acknowledgment."

Bodner said he favoured using the template from the Municipality of Trent Lakes, which, immediately following the oath to the king, adds a line that states, "(...) and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada, including the Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples."

As it was only voted on as part of a correspondence item, officially changing the Oath of Allegiance won't happen until municipalities receive permission from the province to do so.