Category: Education

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Leslyn Lewis

6/23/2020

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.

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: Annamie Paul

6/21/2020

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Annamie Paul

I have received a response from
Green Party leadership candidate
Annamie Paul to the survey
questions I sent out:

"I am afraid that I do not have set
policies on many of the questions
that you have asked, other than to
acknowledge that the Queen is
Canada's head of state."

Ms. Paul also noted that the Green Party membership sets
party policy. While true, this has not stopped Ms. Paul or the
other candidates from putting forward policy proposals. As
for the response itself it doesn't quite reach the level of being a
supportive statement. I suppose it is good Ms. Paul recognizes
that the Queen is head of state and not the governor general.

Ms. Paul has made no public statements regarding the
monarchy as far as can be ascertained.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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GGconversations: The Difference Between Being Partisan And Being Political

6/18/2020

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Governor General Julie Payette has
launched a video series where Her
Excellency discusses different issues
related to the current pandemic. It is
always good to see Her Majesty's
representatives taking the initiative in
performing their role. The video series
began in May and has covered science,
art, entrepreneurship, and other topics.

Some of the videos go into topics that we might call political.
And that is fine. The Crown is permitted, even encouraged, to
be political. Sadly, there seems to be a misconception that to
be non-partisan requires a vow of silence.

This is not the case. The Crown provides a vital role when it
brings a light to forgotten or neglected issues. Political parties
can do this as well but almost inevitably the issue will become
partisan by association. Only the Crown can act within the
government to look at, and sometimes even address,
problems without a partisan wrestling match breaking out.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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2020 Conservative Party Leadership Race: Views on the Monarchy

5/2/2020

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Andrew Scheer

This article is a collection of every
candidate response received thus far to
my questions regarding the monarchy.
It will continue to be updated as more
replies roll in.

I have again included a scoreboard for
the candidates as well as a section for
notable quotes.

This leadership race is to replace out-
going tory leader Andrew Scheer.

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
Leslyn Lewis
Peter MacKay
Erin O'Toole
Derek Sloan

No longer in the race
Marilyn Gladu
Aron Seal

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.

Marilyn Gladu

Ms. Gladu scored well with only a lack
of dialogue about the monarchy
outside of parliament holding her
back.

Score:

Erin O'Toole

Mr. O'Toole improved his score from
2.5 to 5 crowns from the last
leadership race.

Score:

Aron Seal

Aron Seal is the first tory candidate
surveyed to hold strong republican
views. I believe the only thing that
kept his cap score as low as it is was
his lack of public office.

Score:

Leslyn Lewis

Dr. Lewis' score suffered from the
brevity of her reply and its failure to
reach the bar of actually supporting
the institution itself.

Score:

Loyal Quotes

"The heavy burden of public service and constitutional duty
devolved on the Queen when she was only 25 years old and
the mother of two was an awesome and daunting task. For
half a century she has, with grace and complete and total
integrity, discharged her constitutional obligations to the
people of this country and throughout the Commonwealth."
~Peter MacKay, 2002

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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The Royal Veterans

11/11/2019

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As people around the world commemorate Remembrance
Day we remember the sacrifices and bravery of our armed
forces. The fact I can sit at my computer in rural New
Brunswick and write this article without any fear of attack is
in large part because of them. That this could easily be
different reminds me that but for the grace of God go I.

The Royal Family remembers this more than most. It has
long been tradition for members of the Royal Family to get
some form of military training for when they would have to
lead their armies themselves. While no monarch is expected
to be in the field anymore it is still recognized that a royal
should share in some measure of the soldier's experience.

Princess Elizabeth, then 18

It is widely known that Her
Majesty served as a truck
driver and mechanic during
World War Two. She remains
the only female member of
the Royal Family to have
entered military service and
the only living head of state
who served in that war. Her Majesty served in the Women’s
Auxiliary Territorial Service and had the rank of Second
Subaltern.

Prince Philip, 2015

Prince Philip served in the British
Navy during World War Two in the
Indian Ocean and Mediterranean
Sea. He was mentioned in dispatches
for his services during the Battle of
Cape Matapan during which he
controlled the search lights. During
the invasion of Sicily he devised a
means to distract in-coming German
bombers away from the ship by the
use of rafts and smoke signals. On
his 90th birthday he was given an
honorary appointment to all three branches of the Canadian
Armed Forces.

Photo Credit: Eva Rinaldi

Prince Harry served in the military for ten years and undertook two tours of Afghanistan. Part of his training was
carried out in 2007 while in Canada.
His first tour ended prematurely after
two media outlets revealed that he
had been secretly deployed which
posed a threat to him and his fellow
soldiers. To get around this Prince
Harry completed his Apache attack
helicopter training and was then
redeployed. Since attack helicopters
are always high-priority targets it was
determined his presence would create
no additional threat to the other military personnel.

Prince Harry's time in the military has made a lasting impact
on him and inspired the creation of the Invictus Games for
wounded and disabled soldiers and veterans.

The bond between the Royal Family and their soldiers is a
strong one built over time and generations. And as this
Remembrance Day comes to an end we hope for the day when
no one will have to put themselves in harms way in defence of
Queen and country.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Meme Monday #6

10/28/2019

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The Bishop needs to consider his next move carefully.

Not much to say about this meme. It kind of speaks for itself.
But since I'm here I think its interesting to note the chess
piece we know as the queen has not always been designated
as such and in some cultures is still referred to by a different
title.

The Persian game shatranj, from which chess slowly
developed had only male figures; shah (king), fers or wazir
(counselor), rukh (rook), pil (elephant), asb (knight), sarbaz
(soldier or pawn). The fers piece most closely resembled the
queen but was much weaker being able only to move one
space diagonally.

As chess spread across Europe from Spain something curious
happened. The term fers was increasingly used in its feminine
form before being replaced by other terms such as femina,
coniunx, or Amazon. But even before the name change some
chess sets depicted the fers as female.

The reason for this shift is not well understood. Everything
from the cult of Mary to the preeminence of certain female
rulers in Western Europe has been suggested. Supporting this
idea is the fact that Eastern Europe and the Arabian world
still use the old term fers (or equivalent).

The expansion of the queen's power on the chess board is
thought to have occurred in Spain during the reign of Queen
Isabella I and may have been inspired by her political power.

As a final humorous aside, for the longest time a pawn could
not be made a queen if the original one was still on the board
(to avoid the scandal of polygamy). Eventually, it was allowed
with the second piece referred to as a 'ferzia' to account for
this.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Fundy Royal Green Candidate Shares Views on the Monarchy

9/24/2019

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Green candidate Tim Thompson

Usually during an election I would
survey the parties on what their
stances on the monarchy are. But
previous surveys have produced
little that is noteworthy or likely to
change if I asked again. And since I
have already gotten the views of
every federal party leader over the
last four years I hardly saw the point
of doing that again. Looking at my
local riding it was much the same
thing as the Liberal and Tory
candidates prepare for a rematch.
But I did get an interesting response from the Green Party
candidate Tim Thompson which I wanted to share.

To the question,"What are your views on the monarchy?", he
replied that "I do believe the monarchy (as it is now) is a
good institution because it functions as a kind of politically
neutral standard for the commonwealth and creates a bond
with other commonwealth nations." This response was good
but I wanted to see if there was more to it so I asked if he had
heard about Prince Charles' attempt to get Trump to take
climate change seriously. To this he replied, "I didn't see that
part on Prince Charles and Donald. Normally I am so up on
Royal news and have been a top fan of Charlie proctor and
royal central several time but I think with the campaigning I
used Facebook less for personal use and more for 'work'. I
am glad you are a monarchist like myself!" So lets unpack
that. Charlie Proctor is the editor-in-chief of Royal Central
which is a blog/news website of monarchy-related stories.

The 'top fan' part refers to Facebook's system of highlighting
page followers who comment frequently on a page. This
would actually be the first time someone I have contacted was
actively involved in an online monarchist group. The final
section speaks for itself but it is still uncommon to have a
politician self-identify as a monarchist in their replies to me. I
think the last one who did was Alexandra Mendès of the
Liberal Party.

Overall, a very encouraging response. I have often found
Green Party members to be a bit hit or miss on this issue. It is
good to see they found a monarchist to run in my riding.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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The Trudeau Liberals and the Monarchy: A Retrospective on Four Years

9/22/2019

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Canada is well into a federal election
and I wanted to take this chance to
look back at what the government has
done Vis-à-vis the monarchy. I will
state right off the bat that this blog
takes no stance on who anyone should
vote for. This article is provided for
educational purposes to assist with
making an informed vote on election
day. With that disclaimer out of the
way lets have a look back at what the
Trudeau government has done for/to
the Canadian Monarchy.

Things got off on an uneven start in 2015. In November
the Queen's portrait was taken down from the lobby of the
Foreign Affairs building. This was not the only change as the
office of Canadian Secretary to the Queen was folded into the
Department of Canadian Heritage and has been left vacant.

Later that month Justin Trudeau had his first meeting with
the Queen. The Queen actually knew him as a child since he
is the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

In 2016 a Royal Tour was announced which focused on the
Canadian west coast. While the tour was a great success,
there was one noticeable misstep by the government. The
Pacific Northwest LNG project received government approval
less than 48 hours after Prince William and Kate had visited
the area and while they were still in the country. The
appearance that the government seemed to be hiding behind
the royal couple has always struck me as wrong. While
arriving at a First Nations community it was noted that
several paddlers were wearing 'NO LNG' T-shirts. By making
the announcement when it did the government put the royal
couple in the middle of a political dispute.

2017 saw the Invictus Games hosted by Canada. The games
are an initiative of Prince Harry to "demonstrate the power of
sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation, and
demonstrate life beyond disability". Trudeau was able to use
some of his 'star power' to increase the visibility of the event.

That year also saw the appointment of Julie Payette as the
next Governor General of Canada. This appoint was different
than that of the last governor general appointment (and a few
lieutenant governors) as the government opted not to
make use of an advisory committee set up by the previous
Harper government for selecting potential appointees. This
decision likely meant that several red flags were missed and
contributed to a rough first year for the governor general (the
person and the office). The committee has not been made use
of for provincial appointments either. This despite a similar
committee having been set up for Senate appointments.

In June of 2018, Trudeau was speaking at a youth forum in
Toronto when he was asked about the monarchy. While
he defended the institution many felt his arguments could
have been better.

2019 saw the end of the free royal portrait program. The
stated reason was escalating costs and environmental
concerns. The program had grown in popularity since its start
in the early 2000's. However, the end of the program is
thought to be a potential hurdle to anyone wanting to put up
portrait-sized prints.

I believe this to be a thorough overview of the actions and
statements by the government over the last four years which
pertain to the monarchy.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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<<Previous

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: Annamie Paul

GGconversations: The Difference Between Being Partisan And Being Political

2020 Conservative Party Leadership Race: Views on the Monarchy

Questions & Replies

Crown & Cap Scoreboard

Loyal Quotes

The Royal Veterans

Meme Monday #6

Fundy Royal Green Candidate Shares Views on the Monarchy

The Trudeau Liberals and the Monarchy: A Retrospective on Four Years

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