Category: News

Platinum Jubilee in February

2/15/2022

February isn't exactly the best month to have a celebration but
here we are. February 6th marked the day 70 years ago that
Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen's Statement

Jubilee Pin

The government of Canada has produced
a Platinum Jubilee pin which is being
distributed by the Monarchist League of Canada. The pin features the emblem
designed by the Canadian Heraldic
Authority for this jubilee.

Flag Raising at Rideau Hall

Governor General Mary Simon participated in a flag raising at
Rideau Hall on February 6th. Rideau Hall is one of the two
official residences of the Canadian monarch in Canada.

Canada Post's Platinum Jubilee Stamp

New Brunswick Village Marks Jubilee

The Village of Hillsborough had adopted measures in
honour of Her Majesty's Jubilee that henceforth any tree cut
down in the municipality will be replaced by a tree of a species
native to Canada and that a review will be held every two
years to make sure green spaces in the municipality are well
cared for. This initiative has a similar purpose to the UK's
Green Canopy initiative being undertaken for this jubilee.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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

Platinum Jubilee News

1/18/2022

We are officially in the 70th year of Her Majesty's reign.
While events won't likely get started till the summer I wanted
to go over what we know so far.

Event Funding

The Department of Canadian Heritage opened applications
for funding in November. I know that the manager of the
Albert County Museum applied for funding. Interestingly,
she stated that the window for applying for a grant was very
short. Whether it was abnormally short is not a question I
can answer.

Monarchist League of Canada Seal

The Monarchist League of Canada
has released its own seal to mark Her
Majesty's Platinum Jubilee. Mitch
Ramsay-Mader's design was chosen
from a number of submissions. Several
submissions had to be rejected as they
used elements such as the royal cypher
which are for the Queen's use alone.
Mitch explaining his design:

"The profile of Her Majesty with seven maple leaves - six in free fall and
one integrated into the 70 emblem - each representing a decade of Her
Majesty's reign. The maple leaf integrated into the 70 represents 70
years of service to Canada by Her Majesty. The emblem is designed in
Canada's national colours (granted by the Queen's grandfather, George
V) - red and white."

Mitch is originally from Nova Scotia but now resides in Her
Majesty's other realm of Australia.

The Platinum Jubilee Medal Saga

Since I last wrote on the efforts to have an official Platinum
Jubilee Medal program there has been some media attention:

It is probably worth noting that the original Platinum Jubilee
Medal article has been this blog's most commented on post
ever.

Efforts in Parliament continue with two tory MPs having
released a statement on January 13th:

Ottawa. January 13 – John Nater, Conservative Shadow Minister for Canadian
Heritage, and Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Services
and Procurement, are calling on the Liberal government to commission Queen
Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals to celebrate the monarch’s 70th year as
Canada’s Head of State.

2022 marks a historic anniversary for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Seventy
years as Head of the Commonwealth and Canada’s Head of State is a remarkable
milestone that should be properly recognized and celebrated by the Government of
Canada. It is unacceptable that 2022 has already begun and the Department of
Canadian Heritage has not made any announcement regarding a Platinum Jubilee
Medal.

Should the Liberal government not proceed with the creation of a Queen Elizabeth
II Platinum Jubilee Medal, it would be the first time Canada failed to issue medals
for a jubilee. In 1977 and 2002, the Liberal governments of the day issued medals
for the sliver and golden jubilees. In 2012, the Conservative government issued the
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

To commemorate each jubilee, the Government of Canada awarded medals to
Canadians who made outstanding and exemplary contributions to their
communities or to Canada as a whole. During these unprecedented times, there is no shortage of Canadians deserving of recognition for their contributions to their communities and our country.

The Platinum Jubilee is not only a historic anniversary, but it is also an opportunity for the Liberal government to recognize Canadians. We believe that our front-line health care workers have shown remarkable courage and resilience throughout the last two years of the pandemic and deserve recognition for their service, courage, and sacrifice.

Canada’s Conservatives are calling on the Liberal government to take immediate action to commission Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals and award medals to our front-line health workers who have stepped forward and answered the call. We believe their service should be formally acknowledged and the distribution of Platinum Jubilee Medals must go ahead without delay.

While great to see (especially from two MPs that hold critic
roles in their party) it is a bit of an opportunity missed. There
are MPs from many parties that agree with this statement and
such a bi-partisan statement would have had more impact.
Alas, perhaps partisanship in the House of Commons has
made such reasonable ideas impossible.

While efforts continue the usual timeline for these things is
becoming so compressed that I don't hold out much hope.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Platinum Jubilee Medal Update

10/31/2021

A few months back I detailed the efforts that were being
made to ensure a Platinum Jubilee Medal would be issued in
2022. This is a small update on how efforts are going.

The Monarchist League of Canada continues to have talks
with officials and is encouraging its members to reach out to
their MPs. A response from Canadian Heritage was received:

"The decision to create a medal is under the Prime Minister’s purview, and no
direction has been given thus far.
In Canada, commemorative medals are struck from time to time to mark
important anniversaries and are usually managed by the Chancellery of Honours
at Rideau Hall.
Currently, the UK is the only Commonwealth realm that has announced plans to
create a Platinum Jubilee medal.
One of the ways the government of Canada will invite Canadians to participate in
the Platinum Jubilee celebrations will be through funding in support of community-
based projects that will mark this historic milestone and offer Canadians an
opportunity to learn about the role of the Crown in Canada. PCH expects to launch
this funding initiative on November 1, 2021.
Canada looks forward to celebrating Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee throughout
2022 and planning is well underway. A series of initiatives to mark the Queen’s
remarkable 70 years of service to our country will be announced in due course.
Thanks again for reaching out and I hope this helps!"

Interestingly, the League also learned, quite by accident, that
a design for the medal has been completed but is under media
embargo. Why the government would delay the release of the
medal's design for so long is unknown.

MP Cheryl Gallant's petition on this matter closed on August
7th with 1826 signatures.

It is possible that the government is just waiting for the right
time to announce the creation of the jubilee medal but until
we know more the safest course is to continue bringing up the
issue with elected officials.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Will Canada issue a Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022?

6/30/2021

2002 Gold Jubilee Medal

The year 2022 will mark the Queen's
70th year on the throne of Canada. It
is customary for medals marking a
jubilee to be given out to deserving
Canadians during the jubilee year.
However, it was learned earlier this
year that no such medal is planned
to be issued for the Queen's Platinum
Jubilee. This is made all the more
unfortunate by the pandemic having
produced a long list of people who
are deserving of special recognition
of the type a periodic medal would
be well-suited to provide.

Timeline of Events

April 9th: Before this decision became public knowledge a
petition was already being posted on the House of Commons
website by MP Cheryl Gallant.
April 29th: Chairman Finch of the Monarchist League of
Canada informed the membership that he has learned there
are no plans for a platinum jubilee medal. A call for a letter
writing campaign was made at this time.
May 14th: Chairman Finch posted an update noting he has
had several good conversations with various individuals, in
and out of public life.
May 19th: NDP MP Daniel Blaikie called one League
member stating he was surprised to learn no medal was being
considered and noting, "I've known many that have received
the Diamond Jubilee Medal and it was a wonderful
encouragement to them."
May 29th: The League released a simple infopic for posting
to social media:

June 13th: Two League members shared excepts from their
conversations with their MPs. They were MPs Nelly Shin and
Michael Chong and both expressed support for, at the very
least, a platinum jubilee medal.
June 16th: Chairman Finch provided an update on the fight.
The government was reviewing the costs associated with the
issuing of a jubilee medal. It was also revealed several
premiers had been privately advocating for the medal.
June 19th: Monarchist League details the social media reach
of a single League member. Currie Dixon, the Leader of the
Official Opposition in the Yukon Legislature thanked the
League for its efforts and informed them Motion 77, urging
the federal government to issue a platinum jubilee medal, had
been added to the order paper.
June 28th: A League member in Ontario was thanked for his
letter writing campaign which has seen hundreds of letters go
out.

And this is where the jubilee medal campaign stands today. It
is possible with MPs returning home for the summer and the
pandemic restrictions lifting it will be easier to do the sort of
in-person advocacy that greatly benefits these sorts of
endeavors.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

All three policy proposals concerning the monarchy that were submitted to the NDP policy convention

4/10/2021

The NDP is having a policy convention this weekend (so are
the Liberals in what must have been a scheduling snafu). The
NDP membership has once again put forward policies
concerning the Canadian Monarchy to be debated. The
following is a summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

And no, I don't know what 'Priority 0' means.

I actually like this and would support it. The return of the
vetting committee created during the premiership of Stephen
Harper would be a welcome reform.

The Bad

Essentially this proposal would end, or greatly limit, the
ceremonial role of the executive branch (unless the slack was
taken up by the prime minister which is another concern) and give the constitutional parts of the job to the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court. The obvious problem with this is that the chief justice is appointed by the governor general. Without a
governor general the chief justice would be in charge of
appointing their own replacement... and those of their fellow
justices. Even if everything is above board it looks sketchy as
all hell.

The Ugly

Did they stutter with their 'Wheras-es'?

Putting aside the call to abolish the monarchy for a second I
just want to note that the actions of former Governor General
Julie Payette only confirm the dysfunctional nature of Julie
Payette.

How Likely Are These To Pass?

The last time this issue came up it wasn't even debated by
the entire membership. This time the party has a lot of
popular motions to debate (you will note each of these is only
supported by one riding association). Jagmeet Singh has also
been trying to walk back some of the more extreme proposals
so it may be possible they will avoid committing to large
constitutional reforms which would take the third proposal off
the table. The second proposal above raises so many legal
questions that it probably won't make it to a full membership
vote. I can see the first one being debated and passed. This
creates an interesting situation. Due to the limit placed on
how many proposals will be debated (70) does the party allow
a single issue to take up three slots? If you limit which ones go
through does this favour the policy most likely to pass and be
implemented? These policies, if they are to be debated, will
come up on Sunday so we will find out then. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: As predicted the motions did not even come up for
debate.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Prince Philip 1921-2021

4/9/2021

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

The New Brunswick Branch of the Monarchist League of Canada once again has Vice-Regal Patronage

2/27/2021

I mentioned back in October, 2018 that I had been named
chairman of the New Brunswick Branch of the Monarchist
League of Canada. 2019 was a good year with contacts being
reestablished, educational materials distributed to a few
schools in south-east New Brunswick, and a Victoria Day
luncheon in Fredericton for the membership to discuss
priorities going forward. And then the pandemic threw a
wrench into efforts to put those priorities into practice in
2020. The only progress made that year was to double the
number of people liking the Branch's Facebook page as more
people retreated inside and online.

At the back of my mind there was one loose end that needed
to be addressed at some point. Before the departure of Barry
MacKenzie the branch had been granted the honour of having the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick agree to be the
branch patron. However, so much time had gone by that I
felt this relationship should be renewed.

With 2021 looking somewhat easier to predict I went to work
tying up this loose end. I can report that earlier this month
Lieutenant Governor Brenda Murphy graciously agreed to
renew the relationship between the New Brunswick Branch
and Her Honour. An except from the letter delivered to me:

Her Honour, The Honourable Brenda L. Murphy, ONB, Lieutenant
Governor of New Brunswick has asked me to thank you for the request
for Her Honour to grant her patronage to the New Brunswick Branch of
the Monarchist League of Canada.

Her Honour would be most pleased to lend the support of her office to
your very worthwhile organization and looks forward to serving as
your Patron. On Her Honour’s behalf, I always welcome the
opportunity to discuss how the Lieutenant Governor might participate
in your activities.

The Lieutenant Governor appreciates being kept informed about
changes within her various patronage organizations. Thank you for the
information that you included in your email of November 2020. I would
ask that you continue to forward your organization’s annual report, financial statements and any other relevant documents for our files as
they become available. This task can be completed electronically or by
reference to a website, as you have done.

We look forward to our ongoing relationship with the Monarchist
League of Canada, NB Branch.

Her Honour was also kind enough to send along a video with a message of encouragement for the branch membership.

While in-person events are still a no-go the Branch will be
more active in the coming year than the previous one.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

What comes after the Supreme Court ruling on Royal Succession?

4/27/2020

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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