No council member’s motion to talk about asking for change got a second
The Prescott, Ontario, town council didn’t even discuss a motion to ask the Ontario government to stop making elected officials take an oath of allegiance to King Charles III. They didn’t even vote on it.
The motion, which was brought up by Coun. Lee McConnell, did not get a seconder at the council meeting on Monday night.
McConnell said, “In the four terms I’ve been on council, I’ve never seen a council member disrespect another council member by not seconding a motion like this.”
“Not giving a member of council who has obviously put a lot of thought into it the chance to talk about something that is very important to him shows, in my opinion and in my experience, a significant lack of respect for that person.”
McConnell had told CBC before that he thought it would be easy to find a seconder for the motion.
“My constituents, or people who live in my area, told me not to support your motion,” said Coun. Justin Kirkby. “I’m not being rude.”
McConnell said that he thought another council member should have supported the motion, even if they didn’t plan to vote for it.
“That’s not nice,” he said. “I’ll remember it,” he said.
If the motion had passed, the town about 90 kilometers south of Ottawa would have had to ask Ontario to change the Municipal Act by either getting rid of the oath or making it optional.
In Ontario’s current oath of office, it says, “I will be loyal and true to His Majesty King Charles the Third.”
McConnell’s motion had mentioned that the Quebec government had passed a bill in December that made it optional for members of its National Assembly to take the same oath.