An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (oath of office)

Bill C-210 would amend the Constitution Act, 1867 to change what senators and members of the House of Commons must swear before taking their seats. Currently, section 128 requires every member of the Senate and House of Commons to take and sign the Oath of Allegiance (the oath to the reigning monarch) before assuming their duties.

This bill would keep that existing requirement in place but add a new option: members could instead take and sign a newly created "Oath of Office," in which they promise to faithfully carry out the powers and responsibilities of their role as a senator or member of Parliament. Members would be free to choose either the Oath of Allegiance, the new Oath of Office, or both.

The bill also formally adds the wording of this new Oath of Office to the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution Act, 1867, alongside the existing Oath of Allegiance, and clarifies that any future reference to "the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982" is understood to include this amending Act.

This bill amends section 128 of the Constitution Act, 1867 to let members of the Senate or House of Commons choose to take an oath of office instead of, or in addition to, the existing oath of allegiance.

• New option created — members may take and subscribe a new "Oath of Office" (text set out in a new addition to the Fifth Schedule) instead of the Oath of Allegiance, or may take both.
• Who holds the choice — the choice belongs to each individual member of the Senate or House of Commons before taking their seat; no other body or officer is given a role in approving or reviewing that choice.
• Content of the new oath — the Oath of Office commits the member to "truly and faithfully" execute the powers and trusts of their office, without mentioning the Crown or allegiance.
• No discretion left to regulation — the wording of the oath and the right to choose are fixed directly in the bill's text; nothing is left to future regulations or Cabinet decision.
• Interpretation clause — the bill states that references to "the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982" are deemed to include this amending Act, formally folding it into that constitutional set of statutes.