Toronto — A small Canadian town’s five recently elected councilors refused to swear an oath of allegiance to Britain’s King Charles III during their investiture ceremony on Tuesday, despite it being a legal requirement in the northwestern Yukon territory where Dawson City is located.

Under a regulation in the Yukon’s Municipal Act, elected councilors are required to swear an oath of allegiance to the British monarch, who remains the official head of state of Canada despite the colonial-era link no longer giving the king any real power in the country. 

The oath of allegiance to the monarch is typically taken by Yukon councilors when they’re sworn into office, right after they give the separate oath of office, within 40 days of their election. 

If the politicians fail to do so, their election can be declared null and void, resulting in the office being left vacant and potentially leading to a special election, known as a by-election.

Dawson City Mayor Stephen Johnson told CBS News partner network CBC News the decision was made collectively by all the newly elected councilors before the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, in support of one new councilor who broached the idea.

“Early in the morning we all got an email and it was from Darwyn,” Johnson told CBC News, referring to council member Darwyn Lynn. “And he said I’m hesitant to sign on to this basically because of background history with [the] Crown and First Nations in Canada.”

Four of the new councilors present at the meeting on Tuesday did take their oaths of office, with the fifth new member expected to do so after returning from vacation, according to the regional Yukon News outlet. But all five agreed not to take the other oath, pledging allegiance to the British crown.

Yukon Director of Community Affairs Samantha Crosby told the CBC that it’s uncommon for a whole group of new councilors to refuse to take the oath of allegiance collectively. She said she’d been in touch with the councilors to find a solution to avoid having to call a by-election for Dawson City that would result in the councilors and the mayor losing their seats.

“The requirement to swear or affirm the oaths is in the [municipal] act itself, but the prescribed forms are under a regulation within the municipal act,” Crosby told CBC News. “So the language that is within the forms is a regulation and not within the actual legislation. To make changes to legislation is a very long process, but to make changes to a regulation is something that can be done in a much quicker fashion.”

King Charles is the official head of state for a number of former British colonies, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Jamaica and many other so-called Commonwealth nations. He and his family have faced mounting criticism from Indigenous communities across the globe, however, highlighting the complex relationship between the former colonial power and communities that were exploited and marginalized to build the British empire of the 19th century.

In October, King Charles was heckled by an Australian lawmaker during a visit to the country and accused of complicity in a genocide of the nation’s Indigenous people. 

Sen. Lidia Thorpe, a vocal advocate for Indigenous rights who had railed against the British royal family previously, approached the king in Australia’s Parliament House after he delivered a speech and shouted at him: “This is not your country!” 

“You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us — our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people,” Thorpe yelled at Charles and Queen Camilla as they sat on a stage next to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

A source close to the king and queen told CBS News after the incident that while Charles “understands there is always a debate to be had around the role of the monarch, he firmly believes it is a matter for the Australian people to decide.”

Following the September 2022 death of Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, a poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute suggested that a majority of people in Canada (52%) opposed recognizing Charles as the country’s head of state and favored cutting Canada’s formal ties with the monarchy.

Earlier this year, a member of Canada’s national Parliament from New Brunswick introduced a bill to change the country’s constitution to make the oath of allegiance to the monarch optional. The bill was defeated by a vote of 197-113.

Ahmad Mukhtar

Ahmad Mukhtar is a producer for CBS News based in Toronto, Canada. He covers politics, conflict and terrorism, with a focus on news from Canada and his home nation of Afghanistan, which he left following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

The Emmy Award-winning “CBS News Sunday Morning” is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.  “Sunday Morning” also streams on the CBS News app beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. (Download it here.) 

Hosted by Jane Pauley

COVER STORY: Marine veteran Joe Dan Worley’s purposeful life
Twenty years ago, battlefield medic Joe Dan Worley was grievously wounded in the Battle of Fallujah, losing his left leg to a roadside bomb. Worley recovered from his traumatic injuries, and he and his wife, Angel, have grown their family. He also hosts a podcast sponsored by the American Legion, and has turned to music to honor his fallen comrades. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

For more info:

         
ALMANAC: November 10
“Sunday Morning” looks back at historical events on this date.

     
BOOKS: Martha Stewart on her 100th book
In 1982 Martha Stewart published her first book, “Entertaining.” Now, the lifestyle entrepreneur has released her 100th, “Martha: The Cookbook,” which contains some of her favorite recipes. She demonstrates for “Sunday Morning” viewers how to prepare two of them: Alexis’s Chopped Salad, and Potato and Buttermilk Soup.

For more info:

     
SUNDAY JOURNAL: The way forward
CBS News chief election & campaign correspondent Robert Costa on the aftermath of Election 2024. 

MUSIC: T Bone Burnett on why music is “my religion”
Grammy- and Oscar-winning music producer T Bone Burnett has worked in the studio with many of the greats, from Bob Dylan and Greg Allman, to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. But after releasing “The Other Side,” his first album of new music in 18 years, Burnett has found himself in a rare setting: on tour. He talks with correspondent Anthony Mason about performing in public again; the process of recording; and the surprising place where he first fell in love with sound: On a golf course.

For more info:

      
PASSAGE: In memoriam
“Sunday Morning” remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week.

HEALTH: A promising new treatment for PTSD
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a treatment long used to combat compression sickness in divers. But at a hospital in Israel they’re using it to address a very different malady: post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Correspondent Seth Doane looks at the treatment’s promising results that have been seen in both military veterans and survivors of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks. He also talks with doctors in America about using this treatment to help millions of veterans suffering from PTSD.

For more info:

       
U.S.: Honoring a Civil War veteran who was lost to history
Curious about her family’s history, journalist Cheryl Wills began researching her ancestry, and found she was related to Sandy Wills, a former slave who served in the Civil War with the United States Colored Troops. Her search also led her to a distant relative, a former plantation, and ultimately to Private Wills’ remains, which have now been laid to rest – with full military honors – at a veterans cemetery in Memphis. CBS News’ Bill Whitaker reports.

For more info: 

TV: Ted Danson on aging: “Don’t slow down, just keep going, keep living your life”
“Cheers” actor Ted Danson’s latest series is the Netflix comedy “A Man on the Inside,” in which he plays a retired widower-turned-investigator who goes undercover in a nursing home. Correspondent Tracy Smith talks with Danson and series creator Mike Schur (“The Good Place”) about how the show takes a clear-eyed look at aging. Danson also talks about aging gracefully, living life fully as long as you can, and why he feels “complete” in his life now.

To watch a trailer for “A Man On the Inside,” click on the video player below:

For more info:

      
HARTMAN: WWII

      
NATURE: TBD
       

WEB EXCLUSIVES: 

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The eclectic Quincy Jones (YouTube Video)
Quincy Jones, a giant of the music industry for more than six decades, died Sunday, November 3, 2024, at age 91. In this “Sunday Morning” report that originally aired August 1, 1982, correspondent Billy Taylor attends a concert by Jones in Indianapolis, and talked with the multiple-Grammy-winner about his musical roots, and the joy of producing and amassing superstar talents together.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Music legend Quincy Jones (YouTube Video)
In this “Sunday Morning” report that originally aired on March 9, 2008, correspondent John Blackstone talked with the impresario about his indelible mark on contemporary music – from being hired by Lionel Hampton at age 15, to his collaborations with icons like Frank Sinatra, to spotting the untapped potential of a young Michael Jackson.  

GALLERY: Notable Deaths in 2024
A look back at the esteemed personalities who’ve left us this year, who’d touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.

The Emmy Award-winning “CBS News Sunday Morning” is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Executive producer is Rand Morrison.

DVR Alert! Find out when “Sunday Morning” airs in your city 

“Sunday Morning” also streams on the CBS News app beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. (Download it here.) 

Full episodes of “Sunday Morning” are now available to watch on demand on CBSNews.com, CBS.com and Paramount+, including via Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon FireTV/FireTV stick and Xbox. 

Follow us on Twitter; Facebook; Instagram; YouTube; TikTok; and at cbssundaymorning.com.  

You can also download the free “Sunday Morning” audio podcast at iTunes and at Play.it. Now you’ll never miss the trumpet!