Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour
"Grief is the price we pay for love" ~Dr. Colin Murray Parkes and popularized by the Queen in 2001.
Loyally Yours, A Kisaragi Colour ![]() By now most people have heard the news about CTV News National anchor Lisa LaFlamme being fired without cause. I'm not going to re- hash the opposing claims as I wanted to highlight one aspect of the story that sometimes gets overlooked. Dispute Over Jubilee Coverage.At this time I would like to introduce the second player in this story; Michael Melling. Michael is a vice-president of Bell Media which owns CTV News. He is currently on leave to 'spend more time with his family'. Apparently, one of the issues that caused bad blood between LaFlamme and Melling was the vice-president's initial refusal to send a news crew to London to cover the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. A staff member has quoted Melling as saying at the time, "We’re not going. Cancel. It’s not worth it. Let’s cover it from Toronto" and that it 'wasn't worth the expense'. Lisa LaFlamme is reported to have replied, "We have to cover the Queen! She’s Canada’s Queen too." After more back and forth a reduced team was allowed to go but they had to give up a shooting location near the event for one much further away. Lloyd Robertson, Lisa LaFlamme's predecessor, was also a strong supporter of covering the monarchy and became an honorary member of the Monarchist League of Canada in 1995. With both long-time news anchors out of a job it does raise questions about future coverage of royal news. Michael Melling; Republican or Ass?Upon learning about the events described above I began to wonder whether Michael Melling's actions were driven by ideological, cost-benefit, or personal considerations. This is somewhat hard to gauge as Michael has kept a fairly low public profile and his coverage of news events in his former career as a journalist don't touch on the monarchy. Obviously, journalists with an awareness of the monarchy's importance are ones I would like to see succeed. Bell Media has not said that they will rehire Lisa LaFlamme, nor have they said they will fire Michael Melling. Most likely they are hoping their turn as 'newsmakers' will be brief. Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour The Albert County Museum held a tree planting and reception to mark Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee. The event was well attended and, besides a tipsy flag, went off without a hitch. Speeches by the DignitariesThere were several invited guests including a representative from the provincial government (MLA Mike Holland), Village of Hillsborough (Mayor Robert Rochon), Town of Riverview (Deputy Mayor Jeremy Thorn), Royal Canadian Legion, IODE (National President Jane Cushing), and myself as the Chairman of the New Brunswick Branch of the Monarchist League of Canada. While each gave a short speech I only have the text for mine. Sufficed to say they were all lovely tributes. Seeing you all here I am reminded of the promise offered by the Queen in the year Surprise Announcement by MLA Mike |
AboutThis website is intended to be a resource for those arguing in favour of Canada's monarchy, researching Canada's royal past, or wondering what the various vice-regal representatives of the Canadian Crown are up to currently. As well, articles about other monarchies may appear from time to time. Archives
February 2023
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