Town council in Canada at standstill over refusal to pledge oath to King

A town council in Canada is said to be at a standstill because of newly elected members refusing to pledge an oath of allegiance to the King.

Stephen Johnson, the mayor-elect of Dawson City, in the territory of Yukon, said he and others refused to take the oath because of the Crown’s history with indigenous populations, the Canadian Press news agency reported.

He told the news outlet that the council has not been able to govern and is waiting for the territory’s Department of Community Services to respond to its request to take an alternative oath.

The Canadian Press said the oath of allegiance requires newly elected councillors to swear or affirm they “will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III” and his “heirs and successors according to law”.

Mr Johnson said they are currently unable to do anything legally required of them under the Municipal Act.

“It’s a bit of a sticky situation,” he told the Canadian Press.

Mr Johnson said he and three other councillors refused to take the oath in solidarity with councillor Darwyn Lynn, a member of the Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation, on whose traditional land Dawson is located.

“This is being done with no disrespect to His Majesty King Charles. And also we’re not doing this to go ‘rah, rah, look at us’, to poke everybody across Canada, to get rid of the Crown,” Mr Johnson said.

“It was just something we wanted to do together to show solidarity in what we do here in this town.”

The territory is reviewing the council’s request to swear a different oath, a Community Services spokesperson said in an email to the Canadian Press.