Canadian republic debate

No governor general

Chair — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:06:34 +1200

From yesterday's Ottawa Citizen:

Stephen Harper made a law that would set election dates and then said that it didn't apply to him. The Governor General should have sent him back to Parliament with his tail between his legs, making him stick to the letter of the law he wrote. His government is obviously working if all the money he announced so far was approved by the government as it is said.

But the Governor General didn't. So, why do we need a Governor General? We don't need to pay huge amounts of money on salaries, housing and more to have someone open Parliament and to say OK to everything the the prime minister says. We have been independent of Britain for many years, so why do we need that position?

A President of Canada?

Chair — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:54:10 +1200

One member of the Citizens for a Canadian Republic board at Yahoo! Groups posted this quote on the potential creation of a Canadian president by former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien in his memoir, My Years as Prime Minister:

An Offer the GG Can't refuse

Chair — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:57:43 +1200

Canada's Globe and Mail has an accurate account of the Governor General's ability to refuse the Prime Minister's advice to dissolve parliament and drop the writ for an election:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apparent plan to call a general election this coming week, in defiance of the government's own legislation fixing October, 2009, as the date of the next federal election, has triggered a good deal of controversy this past week.

Canada and the Queen

Chair — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:47:23 +1200

The Sydney Morning Herald has an article by Justin Wastnage on Canadian's attitudes to the monarchy:

"...while the Queen decided not to visit Quebec, the only province where the population might be seen as strongly supporting a republic, a British rock star received a rapturous welcome from 200,000 fans. Paul McCartney's concert to help celebrate the city's 400th birthday was provocative, given that it took place on the Plains of Abraham, the site of a battle almost 250 years ago that sealed British dominance over the French in North America.

Despite a strong anti-monarchy feeling in Quebec - about 75 per cent of its 8 million French speakers want the Queen axed from her role as head of state - most English-speaking Canadians want to keep the constitutional status quo.

Canadians not proud of the monarchy

Chair — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:11:19 +1200

It's Canada Day, and Angus Reid Strategies has published a survey on what makes Canadians proud. The monarchy rates in the bottom three institutions:

Only 36 per cent of Canadians feel “very proud” or “moderately proud” about the Monarchy. The number plunges in Quebec (23%) and rises significantly in Alberta (44%) and Ontario (42%)—although a majority of respondents in every region describe feeling “not too proud” or “not proud at all.”
Male respondents (30%), those aged 35-54 (34%), and those with a household income between $50,000 and $99,000 (29%), and a college or university education (both 34%) also are less likely to express pride towards the Monarchy than their respective counterparts.

The almost Queen of Canada

Chair — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:23:36 +1200

The Globe and Mail reports that the Governor General of Canada is visiting France, where the French media are referring to her as the "almost Queen of Canada". Meanwhile, the Governor General has caused controversy at home by suggesting to the French President that France should 'look beyod' French speaking Quebec to other Francophone communities in Canada.