Latest news with #Acadians
Calgary Herald
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
The King is in town. Now, the Bloc wants to make the oath of allegiance to him optional
OTTAWA – When King Charles III and Queen Camilla first set foot on Canadian soil, the Bloc Québécois was already considering one of its first private member's bills: making the oath of allegiance to the King optional. Article content Article content 'It's (Canadians') party. It belongs to them. We're not part of that party. You know, there are some who say the King is welcome. I won't welcome him here,' said Xavier Barsalou-Duval as he was leaving the House of Commons after the election of a new speaker Monday. Article content Article content Outside, a few kilometres from Parliament Hill, hundreds of Canadians were present to welcome the King and Queen. Article content Article content The Bloc Québécois MP for Pierre-Boucher–Les Patriotes–Verchères cares deeply about the monarchy. He cares so much about it that he will champion one of his party's first bills to be introduced this session: making the oath to the King optional when MPs are sworn in. Article content The idea behind the bill is to give MPs who wish to swear an oath to the King the opportunity to do so, and if they do not, they could swear an oath to the institution they represent. Article content 'I won't hide from you that for me, it was a humiliation and it's the fourth time I've had to go through this,' he told National Post. Article content The humiliation, he said, is related to a 'modern incarnation of the old British colonial authority.' Article content Barsalou-Duval spoke of the 'atrocities' and 'oppression' committed by the kingdom and emphasized that nothing can excuse events like the deportation of the Acadians. Article content Article content The Bloc Québécois will therefore not send any MPs to the speech from the throne delivered by the King in the Senate on Tuesday. After proposing a bill to protect supply management, making the oath to the King optional is the party's top priority. Article content Barsalou-Duval said that this bill would meet the apparent priorities of Mark Carney, who wanted to invite the King at the first opportunity. Article content 'It's a debate that never dies and why the subject never dies because we always ask ourselves the question each time why it's still there,' the Bloc MP said.
Ottawa Citizen
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
The King is in town. Now, the Bloc wants to make the oath of allegiance to him optional
OTTAWA – When King Charles III and Queen Camilla first set foot on Canadian soil, the Bloc Québécois was already considering one of its first private member's bills: making the oath of allegiance to the King optional. Article content Article content 'It's (Canadians') party. It belongs to them. We're not part of that party. You know, there are some who say the King is welcome. I won't welcome him here,' said Xavier Barsalou-Duval as he was leaving the House of Commons after the election of a new speaker Monday. Article content Article content Outside, a few kilometres from Parliament Hill, hundreds of Canadians were present to welcome the King and Queen. Article content Article content The Bloc Québécois MP for Pierre-Boucher–Les Patriotes–Verchères cares deeply about the monarchy. He cares so much about it that he will champion one of his party's first bills to be introduced this session: making the oath to the King optional when MPs are sworn in. Article content The idea behind the bill is to give MPs who wish to swear an oath to the King the opportunity to do so, and if they do not, they could swear an oath to the institution they represent. Article content 'I won't hide from you that for me, it was a humiliation and it's the fourth time I've had to go through this,' he told National Post. Article content The humiliation, he said, is related to a 'modern incarnation of the old British colonial authority.' Article content Barsalou-Duval spoke of the 'atrocities' and 'oppression' committed by the kingdom and emphasized that nothing can excuse events like the deportation of the Acadians. Article content Article content The Bloc Québécois will therefore not send any MPs to the speech from the throne delivered by the King in the Senate on Tuesday. After proposing a bill to protect supply management, making the oath to the King optional is the party's top priority. Article content Barsalou-Duval said that this bill would meet the apparent priorities of Mark Carney, who wanted to invite the King at the first opportunity. Article content 'It's a debate that never dies and why the subject never dies because we always ask ourselves the question each time why it's still there,' the Bloc MP said.
Vancouver Sun
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
The King is in town. Now, the Bloc wants to make the oath of allegiance to him optional
OTTAWA – When King Charles III and Queen Camilla first set foot on Canadian soil, the Bloc Québécois was already considering one of its first private member's bills: making the oath of allegiance to the King optional. 'It's (Canadians') party. It belongs to them. We're not part of that party. You know, there are some who say the King is welcome. I won't welcome him here,' said Xavier Barsalou-Duval as he was leaving the House of Commons after the election of a new speaker Monday. Outside, a few kilometres from Parliament Hill, hundreds of Canadians were present to welcome the King and Queen. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The Bloc Québécois MP for Pierre-Boucher–Les Patriotes–Verchères cares deeply about the monarchy. He cares so much about it that he will champion one of his party's first bills to be introduced this session: making the oath to the King optional when MPs are sworn in. The idea behind the bill is to give MPs who wish to swear an oath to the King the opportunity to do so, and if they do not, they could swear an oath to the institution they represent. 'I won't hide from you that for me, it was a humiliation and it's the fourth time I've had to go through this,' he told National Post. The humiliation, he said, is related to a 'modern incarnation of the old British colonial authority.' Barsalou-Duval spoke of the 'atrocities' and 'oppression' committed by the kingdom and emphasized that nothing can excuse events like the deportation of the Acadians. The Bloc Québécois will therefore not send any MPs to the speech from the throne delivered by the King in the Senate on Tuesday. After proposing a bill to protect supply management, making the oath to the King optional is the party's top priority. Barsalou-Duval said that this bill would meet the apparent priorities of Mark Carney, who wanted to invite the King at the first opportunity. 'It's a debate that never dies and why the subject never dies because we always ask ourselves the question each time why it's still there,' the Bloc MP said. His bill, he said, will be similar to the one introduced by former Liberal MP René Arseneault in 2024. At the time, a majority of MPs rejected the proposal, but many federalist MPs voted in favour. One of them was Joel Lightbound, the Liberal MP from Quebec City who was recently appointed minister of public works and procurement. In 2022, Lightbound voted in favour of a Bloc Québécois motion to completely abolish the monarchy. He was the only Liberal MP to do so. Two years later, he even gave a speech in the House of Commons in support of Arseneault's bill. 'We are not preventing anyone from swearing an oath to the monarchy. We are just offering another option for those who, like me, as a member from Quebec, are uncomfortable or have reservations about swearing allegiance to a foreign monarch,' he said. This time, the new minister said he would vote with the cabinet, despite his personal views, but also added that 'it is a beautiful symbol to see the King here.' 'I don't know what the cabinet's position will be… I'm really looking forward to the speech from the throne,' he told reporters on Parliament hill. Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon did not say whether the government would support the Bloc Québécois bill and said he would not comment on bills until he had reviewed them. He nevertheless called the royal visit 'rich in symbolism.' 'I think it's a recognition of our origins as a French-speaking, English-speaking, and indigenous country. And I think and believe that the King will have some interesting things to tell us,' said MacKinnon, who is a Quebec MP. The NDP said it was also awaiting the bill, and Quebec Conservative MP Gérard Deltell said he was 'not a big fan' of the monarchy, adding that the issue will be debated when the bill is introduced. With files from Catherine Lévesque National Post atrepanier@ Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers Sign up here . Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
CBC
26-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Island students present research at P.E.I.'s Provincial Heritage Fair
More than 200 Island students from grades five through nine participated in this year's Provincial Heritage Fair on Friday. Another 20 students from grades 10 through 12 also participated as part of a pilot project. The P.E.I. Heritage Fair program provides an opportunity for students to dive into a part of Canadian history that interests them. Leah Arsenault, a Grade 6 student at École Évangéline, focused her project on the thousands of Acadians deported from Prince Edward Island in the 1750s. "We picked this topic because it's such a big topic and there's so much information about it," she said. Arsenault said she researched the stories of those who were deported and learned about this piece of Island history from different perspectives. A personal focus For some students, the fair provided an opportunity to learn more about their family history. Maggie Densmore, a Grade 6 student at Belfast Consolidated, researched her family's military past. "I learned a lot because I didn't know that… a lot of these people even existed," she said. "A lot of people … they just get forgotten," Densmore said. "I thought it'd be nice to put a highlight on my family." Among other artifacts, Densmore displayed one of her family member's passports from 1975, as well as her military medals and patches. Densmore said her grandmother helped her gather information to put the project together. While she doesn't know what she will do next with her research, Densmore said she was excited to share her new knowledge with others. A common thread Having recently moved to P.E.I. from Qatar, Chelsey Pelias said she wanted to learn more about the Island. She also wanted to learn more about the Philippines, she said, since she grew up there and is also Filipino. To merge those two ideas, Pelias created a project about what the Philippines and P.E.I. have in common. "I found out some pretty cool, amazing things," she said. "I found out they both have amazing farming traditions, like for example the Philippines grows rice and here they grow potatoes." A group of people came to P.E.I. from the Philippines last year to learn more about potato farming, Pelias said.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Science
- CBC
Acadian women's clothing exhibit shows diversity of dresses over the years
More than two dozen articles of clothing are on display at the Université de Moncton's Acadian Museum.
