Canada Doesn't Deserve Elizabeth II

I just sent this to the Ottawa Citizen. Let's see if they publish this one. I haven't had much success writing about the Queen, but like I said earlier, I have to do it every fucking year. (At the bottom you will find another letter I wrote whcih prompted the Editor of the Citizen to esentially challenge me to a fight. Took me a while to find, but there it is.)

Original story: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=6bf06735-7f2c-4de2-a471-9c58197cc821&k=79047

Response:

RE: “Officer wages war against allegiance to Queen”, October 24, 2006

Once a year we are forced to sit through a tirade against the Monarchy and its station in Canada. Generally the moves against the Queen are made by spent Liberal MP’s, insert John Manley here, but this time it comes from the officers club at RMC. Without exception these complaints are comical in their stupidity especially when they are tempered with the real issues of the day. I wait in vain for someone to say, “shut up and concentrate on more important things like unemployment or crime”, but it never happens. I hope that someone raised under our system will say, “it is not perfect, but the UN does not call us one of the top 3 countries in the world for nothing”, but that never happens either. I have dreams where someone says “all the Queen has ever done to you or for you, is support your interests through charity, arts and education and her position ensures that your elected officials never cross the boundaries of what is and what is not acceptable”. I still hold to those unfulfilled dreams.

Instead of supporting what is at its base Canada we talk about the costs of her visits and how our cultural makeup has changed so we no longer need her. We talk about how respecting and honouring our traditions, the very foundation of this Confederation, is unfair.

Well I am sick of it. If a Member of Parliament has a problem with respecting the traditions of Parliament and the very structure of the Canadian political system, do not run for office. If a new citizen does not want to swear an oath to the Queen, move somewhere else and if a soldier cannot force himself to toast the Queen over a pint in the Officers club send him to Afghanistan where he may find he has more pressing things to occupy his thoughts.

God Save the Queen

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RE: “Ditching royals is easy, expert says” February 17, 2005

Why does the Ottawa Citizen deem it necessary to publish an article about getting rid of the Monarchy? Basically every two years another joker brings up this issue and we have to read about it in the paper. This time the source material is not coming from the mouth of John Manley the usual suspect, but from another passed over Liberal MP, Ed McWhinney, a politician that has long faded from view after a not so illustrious public career. McWhinney, perfectly fitting name in my opinion, is passing himself off as some kind of expert and this paper is basically helping him advertise the fact that he has a new book coming out. Are the Citizen and McWhinney working for the same publisher? Now there is a story, CanWest Global Commercial Corporation and former Liberal MP join forces to rid Canada of its Monarchy, news at eleven.

Personally, I feel good knowing that this country’s head has no political agenda and is totally unaffiliated with big business. The Queen truly has nothing but our best interests at heart. Just listen to the Queen’s Christmas message; she talks about national successes, over coming personal tragedy through triumph and building communities. When is the last time a two bit, low rent, glory hog, pension seeking politician like McWhinney had such a noble message? Politicians are too busy pointing out what is wrong with the country and only ever congratulate themselves for national successes in the hopes of getting re-elected.

Prince Charles, our future King, has spent the better part of 25 years helping to rebuild and reshape the United Kingdom. How does this relate to Canada? Well one of Prince Charles’ main vices is working with children and young people through organizations that help them find success through learning and initiative. When he visits Canada it is not for the skiing and the free maple syrup, it is to congratulate successful Canadian youths who participate in his organizations. Yet after work like this we continue to criticize him because we think his new fiancé is not as attractive as his long dead ex-wife.

Instead of asking burned out politicians what they think of the Monarchy why not ask the thousands of charities and organizations that benefit from Royal involvement or the hundreds of thousands of citizens that benefit from those charities. Instead of pointless man on the street opinion polls which search for the most controversial answers and statements for publication or broadcast why not present the alternatives. You can have a monarch who visits every two years, is heavily involved in Charities and trusts that his or her elected representatives are working with your best interests at heart or you can try saying something like President Jean Chrétien five times and see how you feel afterwards. I personally feel sick just writing it.

God Save the Queen.