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C-210 — An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (oath of office)
Every bill summarized in plain language. Not clear enough? Ask for an explanation.
C-210
An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (oath of office)
BQ
In progress
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BILL C-210
An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (oath of office)
Last activity : Outside the Order of Precedence
BQ
In progress
Commons · 1st2025-06-16Commons · 2ndCommons · 3rdSenate · 1stSenate · 2ndSenate · 3rdRoyal assent
Sign-in required — one request per person, no anonymous requests
What it does, in plain language
- Amends section 128 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which currently requires the oath of allegiance before a parliamentarian can take their seat.
- Lets every senator and MP choose to swear an oath of office instead of the oath of allegiance to the King.
- Also allows a parliamentarian to take both oaths if they prefer.
- Adds the wording of the new oath of office to the Act's Fifth Schedule, in which the person promises to faithfully carry out the powers entrusted to them as a member of the Senate or House of Commons.
- Specifies that references to the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982 will be read as including these changes.
- Applies only to federal parliamentarians, at the point before they take their seat.
- Private member's bill sponsored by Mr. Barsalou-Duval, given first reading on June 16, 2025.
🤖 AI-generated from the bill’s official text as introduced — may not reflect amendments adopted since.
✋ What does “challenging” mean?
Clicking “Ask for an explanation” is a citizen request for the bill's sponsor to explain it in plain language — and for us to keep an eye on it together.
An account (email) is required — one request per person, no anonymous requests. 🔥 At 1,000 requests on the same bill, a public post is made, in the hope an MP agrees to sponsor a petition to the House.
It works on any bill, including one that has already received royal assent — that is often the one people want to understand.
Votes in the Commons
Every recorded vote — who voted what, and by what margin.
On the “who voted what” detail — the House of Commons publishes each member's name for every recorded (nominal) vote (Yea / Nay / paired). The by-member breakdown above (the "+" button on each row) comes directly from that official source (ourcommons.ca), not an estimate. The party shown next to each name is taken from the current House roster; people who have since left the House appear separately under "Former members".
How to read a vote
Recorded vote
Members vote one by one and each choice is entered in the public record. That is what lets us say exactly who voted what — no interpretation.
Passed is not law
A passed vote clears ONE stage. A bill must pass both chambers and then receive royal assent before it becomes law.
Paired is not absent
In the Commons, two members from opposing sides can agree not to vote: their voices cancel out. It is neither an absence nor an abstention.
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Hi! My name is
Martin Archambault
I'm 45, and dossiercanada.ca is your first step into democracy!
If we want people to understand politics, it has to be brought down to their level.
When I first tried to take an interest in it, on top of not knowing the jargon, bills came as two lines… and fifty PDFs. Most people would simply walk away.
So I had an idea: use artificial intelligence first to read through all of it, then to put it in plain words. That's how DossierCanada was born.
Alongside the AI recap, I've given people a lexicon that explains the basics of political jargon. Plain-language law exists — think of this as its equivalent for politics!
Parliament glossary
Parliamentary jargon, translated into everyday language.
Account and follows