Canadian Monarchy

[Hank C Cheyenne]

I jsut wanted to know what yall think about the monarchy in Canada. I beleive not to long ago Australia voted on wheather or not to keep the monarchy, and they voted to keep it....hmmmm.

Having never been to Australia I have no idea what people there think, however I have talked to many people in Canada about the issue. Young/old, conservative/liberal from my experience people then to be against it. Not against it in the hostile kida way but more like there is no use for it. The most common hostile responce I seemed to get was about the governor general, whom many feel wastes tax payer money and rises to the head of state by being appointed, like in a dictatorship, not democratically.

Personally I feel we could do without the position. I mean why do we have to have the queen on all our money, she means dick squat to us. In addition to our forefathers and politicians why not have influential Canadians on our cash. Alexander Bell, Frederik Banting are actually people we can relate to and be proud of.

 

[Nascar_James]

I say if the government in Canada wants to halt it's "double standard" approach on this issue, they would be wise to abolish ties to the Queen. Why must the government insist we seperate church and state but not queen and state? In addition, the Queen here is head of the church of England. I would not object to keeping ties with the monarchy but only if the government would also allow an interface between church and state. One start could be to add "In God We Trust" to the Canadian currency in addition to the Queen's picture (and former PM's).

 

[no1important]

Why should you object Nero? You do not even live in Canada anymore.

 

[Nascar_James]

true no1. You are correct. However, although I'm in the US now, I still like to keep current of what's happening in my neighboring country (as well as my birth country).

 

[Numure]

I say if the government in Canada wants to halt it's "double standard" approach on this issue, they would be wise to abolish ties to the Queen. Why must the government insist we seperate church and state but not queen and state? In addition, the Queen here is head of the church of England. I would not object to keeping ties with the monarchy but only if the government would also allow an interface between church and state. One start could be to add "In God We Trust" to the Canadian currency in addition to the Queen's picture (and former PM's).

Why in god we trust? This country isnt religious, like our southern megalomaniacs.

 

[manda]

I like having the Monarchy...even if it is only as a figurehead position. It is not like they are ruling with an iron fist, and the visits that they make to Canada are usually quite pleasant and uplifting to those who feel downtrodden.

Helping the spirts of my fellow man is good enough for me to want to keep them around

 

[Reverend Blair]

The Governor General fulfills an important PR role that we would have to get somebody else to fill. The GG also has a bunch of constitutional experts at her disposal should a constitutional crisis arise. Her position is one that we can have in its present form or hire somebody else to do.

There is also nothing wrong in having ties to the rest of the monarchy. It acknowledges our history and ties us to Commonwealth in ways that other countries lack.

 

[Vitamin C]

[lecture]
In current Canada, the Governor General has absolutely no connection with the British monarchy. Canadians are largely unaware of the role she plays, which is really the sad thing.

I believe in making Canada as distinct as possible from Britain. I think we should start by taking the queen's face off our money.

Now back to the Governor General...

Does anyone here know what "Canadian Cuisine" is?

The Governer General does. Her chefs go from coast to coast searching out Canadian made delights to bring back to Ottawa and use in their "laboratory of Canadian Cuisine". At first glance this might seem like a waste, but let me assure you it isn't.

She promotes the different regions of Canada to one another. She enlightenings us to what is out there in the rest of Canada. She is essential for trade and unity among the provinces (I believe).

The other role she has is to promote Canada to the rest of the world. Recently there was a so-called scandal because she spent $5-million on a circumpolar visit. There was a huge out-cry, but I bet none of you know what she did there.....!

That money was spent on her showcasing Canadian wine and food and culture to the heads of state of those other nations. And that money will come back to us in all the wine they buy from Ontario and BC, all the beef they buy from Alberta, all the cheese and maple syrup and blueberries they buy from Quebec, all the Fiddleheads they buy from New Brunswick, potatoes from P.E.I., and all the snow crabs and lobsters they buy from the other maritime provinces.

I think she is the most necessary part of government we have. She is barred from being political, and her only role is to uplift Canadian culture and showcase it to the many regions of Canada and the world.

She has also done a great deal for our Aboriginal peoples.

[/lecture]

 

[bevvyd]

I say if the government in Canada wants to halt it's "double standard" approach on this issue, they would be wise to abolish ties to the Queen. Why must the government insist we seperate church and state but not queen and state? In addition, the Queen here is head of the church of England. I would not object to keeping ties with the monarchy but only if the government would also allow an interface between church and state. One start could be to add "In God We Trust" to the Canadian currency in addition to the Queen's picture (and former PM's).

As we used to say in the bartending business:

In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash

 

[bevvyd]

Re: RE: Canadian Monarchy

The Governor General fulfills an important PR role that we would have to get somebody else to fill. The GG also has a bunch of constitutional experts at her disposal should a constitutional crisis arise. Her position is one that we can have in its present form or hire somebody else to do.

There is also nothing wrong in having ties to the rest of the monarchy. It acknowledges our history and ties us to Commonwealth in ways that other countries lack.

Should a constitutional crisis arise couldn't our courts deal with it? I mean really she is appointed by the ruling party so one can only assume that her loyalities would be somewhat weighted.

 

[Reverend Blair]

Our system isn't really set up for the courts to deal with some things. With others her decision could be appealed in court or she could refer it to the courts. The point isn't whether she has political leanings or not, it is really constitutional experts advising her that would make any decisions. They are hired based on their skills, not their political leanings.

The possibility of a constitutional crisis isn't high though. The GG spends most of her time promoting Canada and showing up at weddings and funerals and other dull events as our official representative. Other countries have other people for those roles. In the US, it is the Vice President. In Britain it is members of the royal family. Here it is the GG.

 

[Shiva]

While I like the ability to name things, "Royal Ontario Museum", "Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Chicoutimi", etc., that's not the greatest reason to keep the monarchy around. I really don't have any opinion about it. It's there, always has been, doesn't do much of anything, and adds a nice flare to place names. That's my connection to the Canadian monarchy.

If we were to abolish it, I think it would be simplest to just change the constitution to reflect our choice to no longer have a monarchy, and change the title of the Governor General to President, and leave all the functionings of the offices as they are today. It would be a grave mistake, in my opinion, to rethink the entire parliamentary democratic system our nation operates on, and create much too much conflict nationally than would be desireable (and having some top post like the GG is necessary in our democracy, and opening changes to it would involve all I've just mentioned).

Given the high requirements for changing the constitution under the 1982 amendment formula, I think the monarchy is pretty much here to stay. God save our non-resident Queen! :roll: :lol: