The Ontario Court of Appeal, the highest court in the province, is set to hear a case this week to determine the constitutionality of a long-standing requirement of Canadian citizenship.
The Citizenship Act requires applicants for citizenship to swear or affirm they will be “faithful and bear true allegiance to Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, her heirs and successors.”
Three long-time permanent residents argue that pledge to the Royal family violates their right to free speech and are two of them oppose the oath on religious grounds while the third opposes it on conscientious grounds.
They say it should be optional, that pledging allegiance to Canada should be enough to become citizens.
In the challenge they also point out that people born in Canada or to Canadian parents abroad, do not have to make the pledge,
The appeal court filing also says, ”The oath requirement imposes a coercive burden on the appellants to express meaning and content to which they are fundamentally opposed”.
Last September, the Ontario Superior Court ruled the oath to the Royal family is constitutional even if it does violate free-speech rights.
While the three plaintiffs have appealed the Superior Court ruling against them, the federal government is also appealing part of the Superior Court ruling saying the judge was wrong to find that the oath violates free-speech.
The federal government has also said if the appeals court finds for the plaintiffs, they will appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.