It is well past the point where Canada should be doing something to eliminate the false monarchy in this country. It is not only a sham but it is interfering with serious reform.
And I say this in all seriousness in a country where a kid named ‘Archie’ happens to live. Archie is sixth in line for the British throne. Not only that but his parents have tossed up the role of being royals in coming to this land of opportunity called Canada.
This is a new experience for all concerned. I have met some of the crowned heads of Europe and, in my humble opinion, there were few of them who could hold down the job of bag boy in a supermarket. We can hardly expect Harry and Meghan to start a trend.
But I do worry that we are so generously spending $3 billion on refurbishing of a parliament that we have no idea what it should look like by the time the renovations are finished.
And why are we fixing the senate chamber that will hardly be needed if Canadians ever get a say in the matter? The senate was created as a pseudo House of Lords because the Victorian parliament putting together the proposed parliament in the Canadian colony did not trust Canadian commoners to do the job properly.
And why do our parliamentarians live in fear of re-opening the constitution? They have made it increasingly hard to change. It has reached the point that we need to elect a constitutional conference to address the issues. And even a constitutional conference will need a referendum to seal and delivery the changes we need.
Canada is not a colony. We have not been a colony for a very long time. We need to eliminate the false trappings that say we are. We desperately need to modernize how we are governed. And that includes a heck of a lot more than eliminating the royal image on our coins and the $20 bill.
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Copyright 2020 © Peter Lowry
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