‘And we all fall down’ is a nursery rhyme believed to date from the time of the Black Death in England in the mid 1600s. It comes to mind as the Brits continue to send their less luminous royals to grace us benighted Canadians with their presence. It is part of the Queen’s jubilee events being promoted by order of Prime Minister Harper.
Our current visitors are His Royal Highness, Prince Edward, Earl of Sussex and his public relations wife Her Royal Highness, the Countess of Sussex. Why they are visiting Canada is not quite clear. Why Canadians should care is also not quite clear.
But, for some reason, Stephen Harper is giving the British monarch’s diamond jubilee year a leg up. Mind you, we have nothing as exciting as Prince Harry’s recent visit to Las Vegas—which certainly overshadowed his father and stepmother’s visit to Canada earlier this year. You get the feeling that Her Majesty had a quiet word with her fun-loving grandson when he returned to England—something along the lines of a ‘jolly well-done!’
We will not be seeing as much of the Duchess of Cambridge for a while. According to the British tabloid media—who know everything—Billy has done his royal duty and she is pregnant.
Maybe Stephen Harper’s strategy is misunderstood. There is a form of aversion treatment that gives you too much of a good thing to break you of the habit. It is like the Senate. Stephen has decided to keep loading the Senate with mindless Conservatives to teach us that the Senate is useless. If he keeps displaying the useless progeny of the House of Windsor to Canadians, more of us will be hollering ‘uncle.’
It is also a sharp stick in the eye to Quebec. There seems to be an even stronger attitude there that the royals are a load of do-do. One can hardly blame Quebecers. Who wants constant reminders of a bunch of British red coats climbing the cliffs at Quebec City some 150 years ago? Canada has become a very independent country made up of many cultures since then and while we will always have strong connections to our country’s European origins, the English monarchy should be the least of them.
There is no excuse for politicians to continue to hold Canada back from the advances it needs to make in the 21st Century. We need a Constitutional Conference of citizens and a referendum to set Canada on a new path. We need it sooner than later.
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Copyright 2012 © Peter Lowry
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