Reconcile this: Canada's Oath to the Queen, the Doctrine of Discovery, Indigenous Peoples, New Canadians and Freedom of Expression

73 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2016 Last revised: 7 Mar 2017

Date Written: March 6, 2017

Abstract

Canada requires new citizens and an assortment of legislators, law enforcers and public servants to swear an oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth the Second and her heirs and successors. This paper examines the history of the oath of allegiance in both England and Canada; the history of how the monarch of England came to be the monarch of Canada through the doctrine of discovery; a history of case law surrounding the oath to the Queen in Canada; the history of Canada steadily moving away from laws and symbols of England to establish Canada's independence; the rights of indigenous peoples to refuse to swear the oath of allegiance; and how the oath to the Queen offends the constitutionally entrenched principles of equality and freedom of expression. The paper refers to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada concerning the doctrine of discovery and the oath to the Queen. The paper concludes that the Canadian courts have trivialized and made a mockery of almost all of this.

Keywords: Indigenous, citizenship, oath, allegiance, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, equality, Canada, history, constitution, law, reconciliation, doctrine of discovery, compelled speech, compelled expression, royalty, monarchy, republicanism

Suggested Citation

McMahon, Thomas, Reconcile this: Canada's Oath to the Queen, the Doctrine of Discovery, Indigenous Peoples, New Canadians and Freedom of Expression (March 6, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2886896 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2886896

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