Town councillors in Dawson City, Yukon, have officially been sworn into office.

On Tuesday night, all five council members took the oath of office and allegiance — not to the King — but to the Canadian Constitution.

This comes days after the territorial government amended the Yukon’s Municipal Act to offer an alternative oath of allegiance to the Crown after the councillors refused to take it, citing the Crown’s troubled history with First Nations as the reason for their collective decision.

Now municipal councillors have the option to either “bear true allegiance to the Constitution, the laws of Canada, and the laws of the Yukon,” or “to his Majesty King Charles the Third, his heirs and successors.”

Mayor Stephen Johnson took the oaths first. Then councillors Tobias Graf, Justine Hobbs, Cud Eastbound, and finally Darwyn Lynn.

Once the oaths were taken and the councillors signed their names to make it official, Mayor Johnson took a moment to share a few words.

“This evening is an historic moment in the swearing in of new municipal councils in the Yukon,” he said. “What this moment focuses on is the very respectful and inclusive change to the Yukon Municipal Act in which municipal councils swear or affirm the oath of allegiance and oath of office, and to whom the oath is sworn or affirmed.”

“It also gives credence to reconciliation with First Nations.”

Johnson acknowledged fellow councillor Darwyn Lynn — a proud member of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation in Dawson City — and the rest of council on how each member stood by Lynn with his decision.

He also acknowledged the Yukon government, specifically Community Services director Samantha Crosby, and Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn for finding an alternative solution within the 40-day timeline in which newly elected councillors are required to take the oaths, or risk being removed from office.

Now that the council members are officially sworn in, it’s time to get down to business, Johnson said.

The first order of business is to determine the city’s official budget.

“It’s called a provisional budget that is passed by resolution by December 31,” Johnson said. “Now what that means is we come up with an idea of what the budget is going to be, and we vote on that and pay our bills in January.”

The future of the town’s new recreation centre, waste management, and lot development are also among the issues this new council will tackle. After standing together on the issue of the oath of allegiance, Johnson said he’s confident things will move forward in the right way.

“I’m really proud of what we did,” Johnson said. “This was all about support for a good person who was elected fairly and should be on this council.”

“I’m really pleased about that.”