Well, this is a weird one. Canada’s relationship with royalty isn’t what it once was. Gone are the days of fawning over kings and queens, princes and princesses. Tabloid headlines and changing priorities have made an impact.
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Despite that, King Charles III remains Canada’s head of state. But this week, Alberta’s top court ruled that the requirement that prospective lawyers in the province swear an oath to the King before they are allowed to practise in the province is unconstitutional.
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The Alberta Court of Appeal decision, released Tuesday, follows a years-long legal battle waged by Prabjot Singh Wirring. Mr. Wirring sued the Alberta government in June, 2022, over the requirement, which he said violated his religious freedoms as a Sikh.
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So…? How did Prabjot Singh Wirring become a citizen of Canada without the Oath of Citizenship and what it entails?
Mr. Wirring was admitted to the Saskatchewan bar, where the oath is not mandatory, in 2023. This made it possible for him to become a member of the Alberta bar without taking the oath, through an interprovincial licence transfer process…so he bypassed the requirement for the Alberta Bar already, but not for citizenship which he (I’m assuming?) he’s already sworn an oath to?
“The requirement to take the Oath of Allegiance forced the appellant to choose between following his religious convictions or practising law (but not obtaining Canadian citizenship?) in his home province: he could not have both,” said Tuesday’s decision, which came 14 months after the appeal was heard.
How does that work?
Requiring lawyers to swear oath to the King is unconstitutional, Alberta’s top court rules — The Globe and Mail
Sikh lawyer argued the requirement violated his religious freedoms
Alberta’s top court rules oath to monarch for prospective lawyers is unconstitutional — CBC News
A panel of three judges from the Court of Appeal of Alberta has unanimously found the law society’s oath of allegiance to the monarch unjustifiably infringes on religious freedom and is unconstitutional.
Requiring lawyers to swear oath to the King is unconstitutional, Alberta’s top court rules — The Globe and Mail
Sikh lawyer argued the requirement violated his religious freedoms
So…? How did Prabjot Singh Wirring become a citizen of Canada without the Oath of Citizenship and what it entails?
Mr. Wirring was admitted to the Saskatchewan bar, where the oath is not mandatory, in 2023. This made it possible for him to become a member of the Alberta bar without taking the oath, through an interprovincial licence transfer process…so he bypassed the requirement for the Alberta Bar already, but not for citizenship which he (I’m assuming?) he’s already sworn an oath to?
“The requirement to take the Oath of Allegiance forced the appellant to choose between following his religious convictions or practising law (but not obtaining Canadian citizenship?) in his home province: he could not have both,” said Tuesday’s decision, which came 14 months after the appeal was heard.
How does that work?