Category: Canadian Monarchy

A New Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments?

3/30/2021

Flag of the Governor General of Canada

Earlier this month the government
announced the creation of an ad hoc
advisory group for selecting the next
governor general. This is not a full
revival of the former Advisory
Committee on Vice-Regal
Appointments. Still, this is welcome news and something
this blog has been calling for since 2018.

Membership

(Co-Chair) Dominic Leblanc, the President of the Queen’s
Privy Council for Canada and Minister for Intergovernmental
Affairs

(Co-Chair) Janice Charette, interim Clerk of the Privy
Council

Daniel Jutras (Rector of the Université de Montréal)

Judith LaRocque (former Secretary to the Governor
General)

Natan Obed (President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami)

Suromitra Sanatani (Interim Chair of the Board of
Directors of Canada Post).

Scope

Unlike the previous committee the advisory group has been
created solely for choosing a governor general. Provincial
lieutenant governors are excluded from the group's mandate.
This may speak to how temporary this group is intended to
be. While disappointing it should be noted the previous
committee also started out as an ad hoc group.

Critique

A second major difference is the greater prominence of the
government in the advisory group's structure. The previous
committee had one (non-voting) representative of the
government in its membership. This advisory group makes
the government's representative a co-chair. And the member
in question also happens to be a close personal friend of the
prime minister. If you are trying to create an arms-length
process this is not how you go about it.

The inclusion of Janice Charette and Suromitra Sanatani may
be a nod to the tension created between the former governor
general and the bureaucracy. Suromitra Sanatani presumably
knows something about vetting candidates from their
corporate experience.

Judith LaRocque's (former secretary to the governor general)
inclusion mirrors the appointment of Shelia-Marie Cook (at
the time the current secretary to the governor general) to the
previous committee. A current secretary was not included as that individual was shown the door the same time Governor
General Julie Payette was.

Natan Obed is an interesting inclusion. Getting First Nations
input on the selection of the governor general makes sense
when you consider the close relationship they have with the
monarchy and the fact this relationship often flows through
the governor general.

Overall, a positive step away from the prime minister being
able to unilaterally appoint their own boss.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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The Ongoing Problem of Governor General Julie Payette and How it Could Have Been Prevented

9/22/2020

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Gov. Gen. Julie Payette

The tenure of current governor general
Julie Payette could be described as a wee
bit turbulent. Early missteps were largely
forgiven as the actions of someone new to
the role. But as the one year anniversary
of Her Excellency's appointment rolled
around there were new questions. Her
presence at various events was being
scaled back.

One of the events she did not wish to attend was a bill signing.
This is a problem as it doesn't become law otherwise. But for a
while things were quiet and I hoped Her Excellency was
finally settling in to her role as the governor general. Then
earlier this year allegations of verbal abuse and the creation
of a hostile work environment were made against the
governor general and her secretary. This resulted in the Privy
Council Office launching an investigation into these claims.

It is unlikely comparisons to Her Excellency's predecessor
could be avoided given his unimpeachable tenure in the
office. So how did things go so wrong? The tory partisans will
likely point out that Julie Payette was recommended for this
appointment by Justin Trudeau while David Johnston was
recommended by Stephen Harper. Except this isn't fully true.

Stephen Harper made many poor appointments as prime
minister (mostly to the Senate). But when it came time to
appoint a governor general and later the lieutenant governors
he opted to create a committee of constitutional experts. He
had no input on their selection and recommended one of the
five who the committee recommended to him. David
Johnston came out of this process as did several lieutenant
governors who, as of yet, have not become famous for the
wrong reasons.

Notably, Justin Trudeau set up a committee to recommend
Senate appointments to him and this system has worked fine.
But the committee on vice-regal appointments was not kept.
There are a couple possible reasons for this. Perhaps he
already had Julie Payette in mind for the job. Or perhaps he
wanted the reflected glow of a star appointment to shine upon him. If so, his current troubles are karmic in nature. It has
become clear that the vetting process is where the problem
lies. Failure to find previous assault charges? Check. Failure
to find involvement in a fatal crash? Check. Failure to do a
basic background check with her former employers? Check.

Now lets be clear: Her Excellency is very accomplished and as
such gets a lot of attention from employers looking to hire the
best and brightest. But it is becoming clear she was thrust into
a role that does not fit her personality. As someone who has
been in that situation I can say for a fact that it is stressful.
And stress without any sort of outlet can manifest as the sorts
of behaviors she is accused of.

This leaves us with an important question: would a special
committee designed to vet vice-regal candidates beforehand
have been able to better warn the prime minister about what
he was getting into? If so, the greatest legacy Trudeau could
leave behind would, ironically, be to restore part of the legacy
of his predecessor and work to restore the Advisory
Committee on Vice-regal Appointments. Everyone will
be better off.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Green Party Leadership Race: Views on the Monarchy

9/1/2020

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Elizabeth May

The Green Party is holding the second
leadership race this year. It is to choose
a successor to Elizabeth May who has
been a longtime champion of Canada's
monarchy. This is also the first time
since the party gained national status
that a leadership race has been called.
As such it is an important chance to see
what the party's thinking is on Canada's
monarchy.

Questions & Replies

The questions posed to each candidate:

1. What are your views on the monarchy?
2. As prime minister would you make use of the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal
Appointments that was active between 2010 and 2015?
3. During the previous parliament the government cancelled a program that
mailed physical copies of the Queen's portrait to any Canadian who asked free of
charge. Would you restore this program?
4. The government also removed the Queen's portrait from the lobby of the Foreign
Affairs Office and replaced it with paintings by Alfred Pallen. Would you find a
way to have both paintings and portrait share the ample wall space of the Foreign
Affairs Office lobby?

Below are links to each candidate's reply and a short look at
any previous comments they may have made in regards to the
monarchy. Candidates who failed to qualify or withdrew are
included for historical reference.

Qualified to appear on the ballot
David Merner
Amita Kuttner
Annamie Paul
Meryam Haddad
Glen Murray
Dimitri Lascaris
Courtney Howard
Andrew West

No longer in the race
Dylan Perceval-Maxwell
Judy Green

Crown & Cap Scoreboard

Here I have ranked the candidates support for, or opposition
to, the monarchy. Keep in mind this is only my assessment
and your mileage may vary. Also, note that changes may occur
as the campaign goes on.

The crown score is out of five crowns with each candidate
receiving one crown for stating support for the monarchy
in their reply, one crown for having defended the monarchy
in Parliament, two crowns for outlining how they would
improve the monarchy's role in the future, and one crown for
having spoken in support of the monarchy outside of
Parliament.

The cap score is likewise out of five caps with one cap given to
a candidate for being opposed to the monarchy in their reply,
one cap for desiring a referendum on the monarchy, one cap
for opposing the monarchy in Parliament and two caps for
making the establishment of a Canadian republic a part of
their policy platform.

Judy Green

Judy's response was neutral having no
preference for either a monarchy or a
republic. Withdrew and endorsed
David Merner.

Score:

David Merner

David Merner supports the monarchy
and several ways that its role can be
highlighted and improved. His score
mostly suffers from a lack of public
statements on this topic.

Score:

Amita Kuttner

Amita is a republican. Most of their
score comes from including
abolishment in their platform.

Score:

Annamie Paul

Aside from acknowledging that the
Queen is Canada's head of state, Ms.
Paul had no opinion on the monarchy.

Score:

Dylan Perceval-Maxwell

Dylan was supportive of the monarchy
in his reply but lacked any public
comments to improve his overall
score. Removed from the race for
comments made during a debate.

Score:

Meryam Haddad

Meryam is a republican and thinks
the monarchy should be abolished at
some point but has not made it part of
her platform.

Score:

Loyal Quotes

"I love Prince Charles he has been an environmentalist for at
least 40 years. Bush won over Gore because the USA does
not have a Royal head of state. It is important."
~Dylan Perceval-Maxwell

I would like to thank all of the candidates for getting back to
me. While I might disagree at times with the replies I receive
it is at least good to know that politicians still take the time
to reply to ordinary Canadians.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Peter Mackay & Derek Sloan

7/27/2020

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This should be the final post of this series looking at the
Conservative leadership race. I never did get a response from
Peter Mackay or Derek Sloan. However, the Monarchist
League of Canada put together their own overview of the tory
candidates. As such I was able to expand Dr. Lewis' entry and
now have info on the last two, rather elusive, candidates.

Peter MacKay

Derek Sloan

Peter MacKay

“My own personal view is that we should embrace this particular link...to our very
origins, and embrace the fact that the Queen has continued, in a very diligent and
forthright way, to continue this lineage, this connection to our country. It is
something that I as a Canadian feel very proud to continue.... I am proud to sat...
that the constituents in my riding have expressed to me, and members of the
Monarchist League of Canada have expressed quite clearly, that they are satisfied
to continue the traditions of recognizing the Queen as the official head of Canada.
They wish to continue the symbolism and history that comes with it, and the
Governor General as Her official representative in Canada. It is something that is
inextricably linked to our country's past and something that we should proudly
embrace.”

Interestingly, it doesn't appear Mr. MacKay got back to the
League either. The above quote is taken from a debate back in
2002 on changing the Oath of Allegiance (which can be found
here). Due to formatting, the lead-in to the quote above could
equally be from the Mackay team or a statement by the
League and function as a sort of "He didn't get back to us but
he's loyal see look here" statement. If the latter they are quite
charitable.

I do get the strategy of not replying to emails when you are
the front runner (nothing is gained and much potentially
lost). And indeed its been a consistent pattern, with a few
notable exceptions, that the farther a candidate is from being
a front runner, the quicker they get back to me. This is part of
the reason the current Green leadership race is so much fun;
there are no clear front runners.

As far as content goes, it is supportive enough.

It should be noted that as Minister of Defence Mr. Mackay
restored the use of the 'royal' moniker to the navy.

Derek Sloan

"Canada’s constitutional monarchy provides an indispensable component of our
national identity. It's an historical constant, and an essential pillar of Canada’s
parliamentary democracy. The Crown it stands for serves both as a symbol of our
institutional unity and as a guardian of the constitutional freedoms of all Canada’s
citizens. Canada is renowned for having welcomed newcomers from different
cultures and parts of the world over many generations. Our constitutional
monarchy is the unique Canadian “roof” under which everyone can find an equal
and honoured place."

Sometimes it pays to have a larger organization when doing
these kind of things. The League was able to bring my survey
to the attention of Mr. O'Toole's campaign in the last race and
in this one got substantive answers from both Dr. Lewis and
Mr. Sloan.

It might also be due to my desire to ask a more in-depth set of
questions. The League was looking for answers to what the
"candidate's positions [are] on the constitutional monarchy
as Canada's form of government". But I'll count any reply as
a win.

And with that, one project is out of the way for the year.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Leslyn Lewis

6/23/2020

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Dr. Leslyn Lewis (Photo Credit: John Balca)

The third survey reply I have
today is from Dr. Leslyn Lewis.
Truthfully, I received Dr.
Lewis' reply some time ago but
it was so short I made an extra
effort to try and get a longer
reply. As this has not happened
yet I will assume the quote
below is the candidates' full
opinion on the subject. To the
question of what Dr. Lewis
thought about the monarchy
she replied:

"I love the Queen."

Besides Dr. Lewis' short reply she seems to have made exactly
one public remark about the monarchy by re-tweeting
birthday greetings. From this we can conclude that Dr.
Lewis does indeed love the Queen. What this leaves unsaid is
what she feels about the monarchy as a whole.

UPDATE: The Monarchist League of Canada has received a
response from Dr. Lewis. Her Crown score has been updated
to reflect her new response:

"Canada's history is defined by its institutions that are
rooted in its Constitutional Monarchy and our Parliament is
the embodiment of the key principle that I hope to represent
as Prime Minister: responsible government. The reign of Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has seen Canada enjoy
tremendous growth and prosperity, and I believe that we are
well served by our Constitutional Monarchy. Long may she
reign."

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Meryam Haddad

6/23/2020

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Meryam Haddad

The second reply I received today
was from Ms. Meryam Haddad.
Ms. Haddad's response was very
different from her opponent:

"I personally do not believe in the
monarchy and think that we
should eventually get rid of it."

No public statements were found.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Dylan Perceval-Maxwell

6/23/2020

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Dylan Perceval-Maxwell

The leadership survey(s) continue
with me having three replies to
share today. First up, Mr. Perceval-
Maxwell sent an interesting reply.

In response to what he thought of
the monarchy he replied:

"I love Prince Charles he has been an environmentalist for at least 40 years. Bush won over Gore because the USA does not have a Royal head of state. It is important."

Mr. Perceval-Maxwell continued with a bit of personal
history:

"My Grandmother was presented before the King before she
was married as was the custom. We still have a chair from
the coronation. They would let you bring them home in the
old days."

The first part of the quote seems to refer to a ceremony held
in the UK, and sporadically in Canada, where debutantes
were presented to the Sovereign (known as 'coming out'). The
last such ceremony presided over by a reigning monarch was
in 1958 after which Her Majesty abolished the ceremony.

Finally, Mr. Perceval-Maxwell addressed the policy questions
but only explicitly addressed one of them:

"I would be in favour of having Royal pictures up etc."

As with the other candidates who have not held elected office
I could not find any public statements on the monarchy. That
said it was great to see the personal connection his family has
to the monarchy.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Amita Kuttner

5/19/2020

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Amita Kuttner

Well, the trees are getting a bit of green on
them, the fiddleheads are out, and the
grass will soon be long enough to mow. It
has been a slow start to spring but it looks
to finally be here. Continuing this theme of
green renewal I have received a reply from
Green Party leadership candidate Amita
Kuttner regarding my policy questions.

Of the questions asked only one received a direct response. It
should also be noted that this response came through Amita's
campaign manager Anthony and not directly from the
candidate.

What are your views on the monarchy?

"The impact of the Monarchy on Canada cannot be
understated. The Royal family and Queen Elizabeth II have
shaped much of the Canadian identity for decades. However
we must also acknowledge that the Monarchy is also a
symbol of genocide and systemic violence perpetrated
against the Indegenous (sic) people of this land for centuries
in the name of colonialism. If Canada is to be united in
overcoming the crises we face, we must first find a way to
reconcile our traditions with those of all people who call
Canada home."

As prime minister would you make use of the
Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments
that was active between 2010 and 2015?

During the previous parliament the government
cancelled a program that mailed physical copies of
the Queen's portrait to any Canadian who asked free
of charge. Would you restore this program?

The government also removed the Queen's portrait
from the lobby of the Foreign Affairs Office and
replaced it with paintings by Alfred Pallen. Would
you find a way to have both paintings and portrait
share the ample wall space of the Foreign Affairs
Office lobby?

"...at the moment Amita does not know enough to give you
an answer to these questions. Amita and the team are still
looking at a broad range of policy areas including the issues
you've raised. It would be inappropriate of me to give you an
answer before Amita and the team have researched these
issues and completed their work. Rest assured we have not
forgotten about your questions and will get back to you as
soon as we can. Thank you for reaching out."

Amita appears to have made no public statements regarding
the monarchy. As such I only have the statement from their
campaign which isn't great. I will update this post should they
ever get back to me.

UPDATE: Amita has added abolishing the monarchy to
her campaign platform.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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What comes after the Supreme Court ruling on Royal Succession?

4/27/2020

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Badge of the Supreme Court of Canada

Last Thursday the Supreme Court
of Canada upheld a ruling by the
Quebec Court of Appeal on the 2013
Succession to the Throne Act. The
decision upholds the act as being
constitutional. Without getting too
far into the legal arguments the
point of contention was whether
changes to royal succession require
an act of the federal parliament or
the consent of every province in Canada. This ruling upheld
the first interpretation. Monarchists were divided over this
question with the Monarchist League of Canada supporting
the ruling and the Canadian Royal Heritage Trust joining the
challenge to the act. While there were valid concerns on
both sides, today I'm more interested in what this means for
the future.

The Queen and her heirs

The good news is that no matter which
way the courts had ruled the succession
would not be affected in the near future.
The bad news, in the view of some
monarchists, is that changes to the
succession potentially don't need the
consent of the provinces and may only
need the federal parliament to pass the
necessary acts. This situation ultimately
came about because Canada doesn't
have a succession law and from the way
in which the Canadian Crown split off
from the British Crown. In place of a
succession law we have a 'principle of symmetry' where the
monarch of Britain is also the monarch of Canada. This of
course raises the question of what happens if Britain abolishes
their monarchy? I have mentioned before that similar laziness
resulted in Canada not having a regency act.

Some monarchists are uncomfortable with the possibility the
federal parliament could change the succession on its own.
This is because while republicans taking over the House of
Commons is, in practice, difficult but republicans taking every
parliament and legislature is, in practice, impossible. And
when it comes to protecting the monarchy making it
impossible to attack is preferable for many monarchists to
making it difficult to attack.

But I'd argue this is a tad unhistorical. Ever since the Glorious Revolution the principle in the UK has been that parliament
ultimately decides who the monarch is. This was a rejection of
the idea that the succession was divinely immutable. Canada
meanwhile has come to a place where succession to the throne
is no longer constitutionally immutable. It is a tad
uncomfortable but it does present a potential course of action
that can be taken now that could not before. The ruling seems
to suggest that the Canadian Parliament could pass both a
succession law and a regency act on its own. Both would be
welcome laws to have. We can only put off passing key laws
in this country for so long before we end up in a crisis and
being a bit more proactive would be a good thing.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: David Merner

4/24/2020

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David Merner

Today I received a response from
Green leadership candidate David
Merner to my survey questions. He
is the former 2019 candidate
for Green Party of Canada candidate
in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke.

It has been a while since the last
survey response was received so as a
refresher the questions I sent to each
candidate are below:

1. What are your views on the monarchy?

2. As prime minister would you make use of the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal
Appointments that was active between 2010 and 2015?

3. During the previous parliament the government cancelled a program that
mailed physical copies of the Queen's portrait to any Canadian who asked free of
charge. Would you restore this program?

4. The government also removed the Queen's portrait from the lobby of the Foreign
Affairs Office and replaced it with paintings by Alfred Pallen. Would you find a
way to have both paintings and portrait share the ample wall space of the Foreign
Affairs Office lobby?

Mr. Merner responded to questions 1 and 4 via Facebook and
questions 2 and 3 by telephone. His replies were:

Question 1: "I am a supporter of the monarchy."
Question 2: Mr. Merner stated that it was a sensible idea to
make use of the committee. As someone with a constitutional
law background himself he felt having constitutional experts
weigh in on vice-regal appoints was a good idea.
Question 3: As the program is currently structured he would
not bring it back and would go further and end a similar
program for copies of the Charter. However, while discussing
the program he was supportive of somehow incentivising
libraries to take on this particular role with possible financial
support from the federal government.
Question 4: "yes, I would raise this issue with the Minister
of Foreign Affairs."

As always I checked for any public comments by Mr. Merner
on the monarchy. I found none which is pretty standard for
leadership candidates who have not held public office. There
are simply fewer public statements to go by. Overall, he seems
solidly in the monarchist camp.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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<<Previous

Forward>>

A New Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments?

Membership

Scope

Critique

The Ongoing Problem of Governor General Julie Payette and How it Could Have Been Prevented

Green Party Leadership Race: Views on the Monarchy

Questions & Replies

Crown & Cap Scoreboard

Loyal Quotes

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Peter Mackay & Derek Sloan

Peter MacKay

Derek Sloan

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Leslyn Lewis

Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Meryam Haddad

Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Dylan Perceval-Maxwell

Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Amita Kuttner

What comes after the Supreme Court ruling on Royal Succession?

Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: David Merner

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