Is the Governor General the head of state? Well, Slick Willy must be the new Canadian viceroy because according to Rideau Hall, it depends on what the definition of is is.
Needless to say, the Dominion Chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada and the Governor General are no longer working on the same team. Robert Finch says he doesn't have a choice, he's gotta tell it like it is:
The significance of last week, though, is not the fact that our Governor General referred to herself as head of state. Nor is it the fact that Rideau Hall so foolishly tried to justify using the term... And, nor is it the fact that the Prime Minister issued a rare public rebuke.Here is only a sampling of articles from the mainstream media on the whole "Head of State Debate":
Rather, the importance of last week is that years of constitutional vandalism was suddenly exposed. Last week, the general public learned what many of us reluctantly suspected was on the agenda: a carefully calculated plan to elevate the office of the Governor General, to purposely downplay the role of The Queen herself, to "Canadianize" the Crown into a monarchy without a monarch.
Finally, the story was being told. The head-of-stateism-by-stealth campaign was blown wide open for all to see. Yes, that's what is important...
I believe that years from now we will look back and realise that last week was indeed a turning point. The hidden agenda to turn the Governor General into the head of state now public and causing tremendous backlash, the steps are now being taken to reverse the trend and to restore the vice-regal office to what it truly should be: a representative of our Queen, a woman who has dutifully and selflessly served us for almost 60 years.
Queen is our head of state, Prime Minister reminds GG
The Gazette (Montreal) - Randy Boswell - Oct 13, 2009
Stephen Harper has sent a clear message to Michaelle Jean, the Governor-General, that she should not ...
Governor General's new website adds fuel to head-of-state debate
The Gazette (Montreal) - Randy Boswell - Oct 13, 2009
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General Michaelle Jean in the senate chambers in Ottawa. ...
Queen keeps distance from 'head of state' flap
National Post - Oct 13, 2009
Andy Clark/Reuters Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to an RCMP training facility in Ottawa on Oct. 14, 2002. News of Canada's "head of state" uproar has ...
1 or 24: Which comes first?
Ottawa Citizen - Randy Boswell - Oct 13, 2009
Ottawa's two most prestigious addresses are locked in a polite -- but firm -- battle over exactly who is the head of state, writes Randy Boswell. ...
A viceroy is a viceroy
Globe and Mail - Oct 12, 2009
Governor-General Michaelle Jean is inspects the Ceremonial Guard at Rideau Hall on June 18, 2009. The Canadian Press From Tuesday's Globe and Mail Published ...
Citizenship and the Governor-General
The Suburban - Jim Wilson - 12 hours ago
We all know that on one side of Canadian coinage is an image that we recognize as the Queen, who is the country's head of state. ...
L. Ian MacDonald: Uneasy lies the Governor General that wears the crown
National Post - 10 hours ago
A hot debate about head of state
The Globe and Mail - Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 12:19AM EDT
Douglas Bell: Steve and Betty
The Globe and Mail - Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 02:35PM EDT
Norman Spector: Fixing a constitutional grey area
The Globe and Mail - Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 08:55AM EDT
Rideau Hall wants to turn the country into a governor general's republic. Not only do they think they are above politics, they think they are above the people, precisely because they have elevated themselves above the Queen.
ReplyDeleteThe whole issue of pushing the Governor-General as Head of State has been taken to bizarre heights in Australia with “Australians for Constitutional Monarchy” pushing that the Governor-General is Head of State in his/her own right!
ReplyDeleteI have ACM’s original information books where they use to say the Queen is our Head of State and that the Governor General is our “effective” or “acting” Head of State. ACM got scared when republicans called for “an Australian Head of State”.
If you go to the “Australian Monarchist League” website you can read an excellent paper by Mr Philip Benwell on this issue “A DEFINITIVE EXPOSITION OF THE POSITION OF HEAD OF STATE IN AUSTRALIA” “TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE”
I took my girlfriend to the Governor General's Residence at the Citadel this summer and was shocked to find no reference or image at all to HM The Queen, but instead Her representative all but taking over the residence as her own. I have been concerned about the GG's usurpation of ancient powers, and was now told by the guide it was because some might be uncomfortable with knowing who our Head of State was. I left Canada feeling I had lost my country without having even been informed.
ReplyDeleteIf Jean cannot understand her duties, and feels such shame to represent The Queen, may I suggest for the good of those who still feel loyalty and kinship to the Crown that she relinquish her position and find work elsewhere. Presumably in public relations where she can continue to promote herself and leave constitutional matters to those who understand and appreciate them.
It angers me that people come to my country forcing us to accommodate them. Perhaps if Jean had been born as I was in this country founded on the principle of the values found in the British Crown, she would respect it more.