It is refreshing to see The Chilliwack Progress editor is courageous enough to publish what more than two thirds of Canadians (according to the 2023 Angus Reid survey) have been thinking since Sept. 9, 2022 when the Queen died. It is “time to disconnect from the British monarchy.” That from a letter to the editor in the May 12 edition written by Rolf Van Nuys.
READ MORE: LETTER: Time to disconnect from the British monarchy
I wrote to the editor in early Sept. 2022 stating, “It’s time to abolish the costly, meaningless Governor General’s job” because, firstly, the $30 million savings (according to a federal estimate), would provide enough money to house most homeless persons across Canada.
And secondly, the Governor General’s duties could more meaningfully be filled by Canada’s Supreme Court. More appropriately, the Chief Justice could swear in cabinet ministers, dissolve Parliament when asked by the Prime Minister, and sign legislation into effect. In fact, that’s what the current Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner was tasked to do following Governor General Julie Payette’s resignation. Also, the Speaker of the House could read the Throne Speech, and MPs and senators could cut ribbons and hand out honorary pins.
Actually, the Queen’s passing should cause every Canadian to ponder the embarrassing – dare I say, humiliating – question of why Canada continues to have a foreign monarch as its head of state.
Undeniably, Queen Elizabeth II had a stoic personality. She truly was the last monarch born into a classic age of European royalty, when kings and queens wielded genuine political power.
Her long reign saw Britain transformed from a war-weary declining imperial power into a modern multicultural state that rarely looked to its monarch for leadership, but still held her in high personal esteem.
Elizabeth’s rule also weathered many storms, both public and personal, as the monarchy tried to keep pace with changing times.
Of course, esteem should be earned and not bequeathed, no matter who you are. So who are the “new” royals demanding our esteem in September 2022? New King Charles is an adulterer having a decades-long affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles while married to Diana Spencer. After marrying Camilla, Charles wrote on his official website that after his Ascension, Camilla would be known as “Princess Consort,” in an effort to appease the public’s continuing adoration and respect for the late Princess Diana. Nothing worthy of esteem there.
Prince Andrew – the third child of Queen Elizabeth – allegedly raped Virginia Giuffre when she was 17 and paid her $13.5 million to not take him to court. Nothing worthy of esteem there.
In fact, the only “new” royals worthy of the taxpayers’ esteem are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who in January 2020 chose to remove themselves from the royal hypocrisies and become financially independent.
Which makes one wonder why Canada shouldn’t simply become a republic.
Bryan Stephenson
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