Screw you, John Manley - if you want to live in a republic, get out there hiking and find one to move to ... the only reason we have a country at all, is because a few brave loyalists stood up for that crown, and it is one of the things keeping us free and independent to this day .... and how rude of you, threatening our connections with the civilised nations on the very day our Queen arrives here
' Minister Questions Monarchy As Queen Tours Canada
By Jim Young
IQALUIT, Nunavut (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth
II flew into immediate controversy at the start of
a Canadian tour on Friday when the country's
deputy prime minister said Canada should ditch
the British monarchy.
The Queen, who is also Canada's head of state,
had barely been on Canadian soil an hour when Deputy Prime Minister
John Manley -- the federal cabinet's most ardent opponent of the
monarchy -- suggested a major constitutional change.
"It is not necessary, I think, for Canada to continue with the monarchy,"
he told reporters in Montreal, saying he nevertheless had a great deal of
respect for the Queen.
"I have always said that, first, I think Queen Elizabeth is doing a good job," Manley said. "Personally, I
would prefer it if we could have a uniquely Canadian institution after Queen Elizabeth."
Canada, a constitutional monarchy, has much of its historic roots in the British Empire. Elizabeth -- who
was crowned in 1952 -- holds the title of Queen of Canada.
Manley's comments -- made in French -- reflect the feelings of some Canadians, who feel that having
the Queen as head of state is increasingly an anachronism.
At the same time Manley was speaking, Prime Minister Jean Chretien was lavishing praise on the
Queen after she arrived in Iqaluit, the capital of the Arctic territory of Nunavut.
"I was not alone in noting that the slight chill that is even now in the air has been lessened by the warmth
of smiling faces that have already greeted you along the way," Chretien told the Queen during a speech
to the legislature.
A recent Leger Marketing poll found 50 percent of Canadians surveyed support keeping a connection
with the monarchy but only 15 percent backed the idea of a big Canadian celebration to mark the
Queen's 50th year on the throne.
One of the people present in Iqaluit was Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, the Queen's
representative in Canada and the country's acting head of state. Manley suggested she should become
the real head of state.
"It (a solution) could be as simple as the continuation of the Governor General (in her current role), as
the head of state of Canada," he said on Friday.
In an ironic twist, Manley has been assigned the duty of greeting the Queen when she arrives in Ottawa.
In 1997, he said Canada should sever its formal links with the monarchy. He later backed down, but in
May 2001 said the monarchy was "really an institution that's a bit out of date for Canada to continue
with".
He particularly opposes the idea of Prince Charles, the Queen's son, taking over her responsibilities in
Canada.
The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, are in Canada on their 20th visit,
this time for a 12-day tour to mark her Golden Jubilee.
Iqaluit is capital of the giant, yet largely unpopulated, Inuit territory of Nunavut, a political entity that did
not exist when she last visited Canada in 1997, and a region that takes takes up most of the northeast
corner of the country.
The Queen said she was delighted to start her tour in Nunavut, which was created in 1999 after
decades of struggle by local activists. Just 30,000 people live in the enormous territory, which covers
770,000 square miles (2 million sq km) of rock, snow and ice.
"Taking its rightful place in this Canadian story has been the birth of Nunavut in 1999... Prince Philip
and I congratulate you for bringing your dream to reality," the Queen said in a speech to mark the
dedication of the legislature.
"I am proud to be the first member of the Canadian royal family to be greeted in Canada's newest
territory."
Hundreds of people in the small town gathered outside the Nunavut legislature in freezing temperatures
to greet the Queen, who was escorted by Chretien. The Queen and Prince Philip were serenaded by a
traditional choir and received bunches of flowers from Inuit children. '
ca.news.yahoo.com |
