Category: Green Party

The Year Ahead

1/18/2022

2022 is well underway and it is perhaps time to look ahead to
what the year has in store for the Canadian Monarchy.

The Platinum Jubilee

As detailed in my other post today Her Majesty's Platinum
Jubilee will be marked this year in some manner. My
understanding is that official events will start occurring after
February. Partly this is because of a combination of it taking
time for grants to be processed and money for jubilee events
to be distributed, partly its because no one wants to hold
events in the middle of a Canadian winter, and partly its the
lingering uncertainty around the pandemic.

I have my own projects I'm working on as Chairman of the
New Brunswick Branch of the Monarchist League of Canada
but those can be detailed in a separate post.

Vice-Regal Appointments?

2022 might see a number of vice-regal appointments. The
traditional length of a lieutenant governor is five years. There
are currently four of Her Majesty's representatives who have
held office longer than five years or who will reach that
milestone in 2022. The current Lieutenant Governor of
Ontario, Her Honour the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell,
has entered her eighth year in office. I find it doubtful the
premier will replace the lieutenant governor before the
scheduled June election so if it happens this year we might
expect the announcement around September (which is when
the last appointment occurred).

Green Party Leadership Race

As per the Green Party constitution a leadership race must be
called by May 24th of this year (although the end date might
be in 2023). The last race was a decidedly mixed bag for
anyone who supports the monarchy. The candidate with the
best score in the last survey, David Merner, has also stated he
will not be running again. There are already a couple declared
candidates who I will be reaching out to in coming weeks.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Meryam Haddad

6/23/2020

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

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

6/23/2020

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

Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Annamie Paul

6/21/2020

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

Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Amita Kuttner

5/19/2020

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

Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: David Merner

4/24/2020

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

Green Party Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Judy Green

2/5/2020

Photo Credit: Judy Green

The Green Party is the second federal
party holding a leadership race this
year after the lovely Elizabeth May
announced in 2019 that she was
stepping down. In truth I am paying
somewhat more attention to this race
than I am to the Conservative one for
the simple fact Elizabeth May has been
one of the most vocal monarchists in
Parliament of the last decade and it
would be nice for her to have a worthy
successor. Today I received a reply from
the aptly named Judy Green. The
questions Mrs. Green was asked for reference:

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?

Her reply: "Hi James, We are a constitutional monarchy. I
do not have strong personal preferences one way of another.
As with all GPC policies it is not the leader or president who
makes those decisions. I would encourage you to follow the
process for creating policy and present your plan to the
membership at the BGM. Personally, I would look at the
reasons that this was changed, what are the pros and the
cons and what do the people want, before taking a position
on it."

Overall, a neutral response. Previous Green politicians have
noted that the leader has no control over policy and used this
to avoid saying anything about their personal stance. So in
that regard Mrs. Green gets points for saying she doesn't care
either way. Her suggestion on submitting questions 4 & 5 as
policies was also helpful. Sadly, this survey isn't seeking to
measure helpfulness but it is nice to see regardless.

Judy Green has not been elected and therefore has no
presence in the Hansard. Her online presence seems limited
to the announcement of her candidacy.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The Canadian Monarchy in the Year Ahead

12/26/2019

While 2019 has been an exciting year politically, the Canadian
Monarchy has been low-key in a lot of ways. The Governor
General seems to have adapted to her new role and put her
mark on it. The government's questionable decision to cancel
the free royal portrait program was balanced out by the recent
appointment of a new Canadian Secretary to the Queen. Of
course the Queen finished off the year with her Christmas
message as she always does. That one of Her Majesty's themes
was reconciliation is apropos to Canada.

But as we inch towards the New Year I wanted to take a
minute to look at what is known to lie ahead and what can
with some certainty be predicted.

Leadership Races

Elizabeth May

Both the Conservatives and the Greens
will have leadership races in 2020. As is
my tradition I will be submitting a list of
questions to all the candidates. Both of
the out-going leaders are monarchists
with Elizabeth May being very vocal
over the years about this and Andrew
Scheer being the leader of Her Majesty's
Loyal Opposition. So I am sad to see
their time as leaders come to an end.
But at the same time there is a silver
lining to be seen.

Either by accident, or design, Mr. Scheer repelled Maxime
Bernier from the Conservative Party. Long-time readers may
recall that Mr. Bernier did not score highly on the last
survey I conducted. That the man who came in a close second
last time has zero chance in the up-coming contest is a relief.

I have greater concerns about the Green Party which seems to be at a cross-roads of sorts. Elizabeth May has been a strong
influence within the party for so long that I can't make any
predictions about what her successor would be like.

The New Democrats

I still have concerns about Mr. Singh's republicanism but
the party itself looks better going into 2020. Declared
monarchist Randall Garrison kept his seat in a reduced
caucus and the minority government situation should keep
the NDP from putting forward any damaging proposals.

Polls

At some point there will be an opinion poll on the monarchy.
The poll will show Canadians love the Queen more than our
politicians, are evenly divided on the monarchy itself, and are
ambivalent about Prince Charles. Reporters will conveniently
forget that ambivalence is actually an improvement and fret
about the future of the monarchy. Having finished this
pantomime for another year we will give ourselves a pat on
the back and agree to meet again in another 8-12 months.

Royal Homecomings

While none have been announced to my knowledge with the
appointment of a New Canadian Secretary to the Queen we
may hope that one is in the works.

Monarchy in New Brunswick

Just this week a group in New Brunswick launched a court
action over the recent appointment Brenda Murphy as the
province's Lieutenant-Governor. This case will likely play out
over the coming year. My gut feeling is that it won't go
anywheres but you never know. Something to watch closely.

Monarchist League in New Brunswick

Personally, I have finished out my first full year as Chairman
of the New Brunswick Branch of the Monarchist League of
Canada. Out-reach and educational activities were largely confined to the South-East. This is a situation that I will be
working to address.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Fundy Royal Green Candidate Shares Views on the Monarchy

9/24/2019

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

Party Leadership Conventions Present Opportunity to Assess Views

4/11/2016

Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper

As of today two federal political
parties are in search of new
leaders. Stephen Harper of the
Conservative Party resigned after
his party's defeat in October. On
the other side of the political
spectrum Tom Mulcair was not
able to secure the support to
stay on as leader during a vote
held last night. Leadership races
present an opportunity to assess
where a party stands on any
number of issues.

Tom Mulcair

And one of those issues is the
monarchy. I have done such
assessments of Liberal, NDP, and
other parties before. However,
this will be the first time assessing
the views of Conservative Party
leadership candidates. This is
important due to the Conservative
Party's strong support for the
monarchy over the last ten years.
An indication that this strong
support is likely to continue into
the future would be a welcome
sign. Finding out the NDP's views
is important for a different reason.

The Late Jack Layton

While Tom Mulcair never made
his views on the monarchy clear,
his party has gone back and forth
on the issue. Only in the Green
Party have I found less support for
the monarchy (the lovely Elizabeth
May is a notable exception). The
issue of possibly getting rid of the
monarchy has come up from time
to time. In fact Nathan Cullen, a
candidate to replace Jack Layton
being a recent example. Jack
Layton, The NDP's previous (and
arguably greatest) leader, firmly
supported the monarchy:

"Some people think the NDP may want to get rid of the
monarchy but I can assure you that that's absolutely not the
case. My Dad was a big time monarchist and so am I."

So with two leadership elections coming up I plan to contact
every candidate to determine where they stand on this
important Canadian institution. So far I have contacted the
two declared Conservative candidates (Maxime Bernier &
Kellie Leitch) and await replies.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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