Supreme Court to hear case on constitutionality of requiring oath to the Crown

The Supreme Court of Canada says it will hear a case on whether requiring prospective lawyers to swear the Oath of Allegiance to the reigning monarch is unconstitutional.

The decision comes after Alberta’s top court decided in December that the rule violates the constitution and infringes on religious freedom.

The Court of Appeal of Alberta said the legally-required oath forced Prabjot Wirring to choose between practising law in Alberta and his faith as an amritdhari Sikh.

Wirring originally challenged the oath in June 2022.

Last year’s ruling by the Appeal Court’s three-judge panel made it no longer a requirement in Alberta.

The Appeal Court said Alberta could remedy the issue by making the oath optional or removing the requirement, as numerous other provinces have already done, or by revising the oath’s phrasing.

The Alberta government appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.