Category: Monarchist League Of Canada

New Brunswick Branch of the Monarchist League of Canada gets a new Chairman... Me?

10/23/2018

During the recent provincial election
(which I took part in) I was offered the
position of Chairman of the New
Brunswick branch of the Monarchist
League of Canada. The branch had
been sadly inactive since 2015 when
Barry MacKenzie stepped down as
chairman.

Barry left a void and it could not be easily filled. Earlier this
year the League finally put out a call for volunteers to help
rebuild the New Brunswick branch. I volunteered and figured
I could be of use to whoever they decided to put in charge of
rebuilding efforts. Imagine my surprise when that person
turned out to be me.

When I received the offer over the summer I initially sent
back an email refusing the position. My intention to run in
the election and the time investment in various other projects
left me doubting I could give it my 100% best effort. As fate
would have it my email was never delivered and I was
contacted again about leading the rebuilding efforts while I
was campaigning in the election.

This time I gave it a bit more thought and decided I would try
it. There was several other volunteers so things wouldn't fall
all on my shoulders. With that and a few other minor
concerns dealt with I accepted the position.

There is a lot of room to grow League efforts in the province
and my long term goals are as follows:
-Having annual events in all three major cities in NB.
-Increasing membership among Acadians.
-Putting the NB Branch on steady footing for the future.
An ambitious calendar of activities and initiatives is being
drawn up for the coming year. Stay tuned!

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Trudeau's Recent Defence of Monarchy and how it Could be Better

6/29/2018

On Wednesday Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau attended a
youth forum in Toronto where
he was asked about the value of
Canada being a monarchy. His
answer raises some questions.

The recording of the youth forum is available on CPAC with
the relevant section starting at the one hour mark: "What are
your thoughts on monarchy? And also, do you see us freeing
ourselves from paying the English Royal Family taxes in the
future?" Now, this is pedantic but since it comes up so much
I will again note that there is no 'English Royal Family' as
there is no government of England for there to be a royal
family of. It would be more correct to say the 'British Royal
Family', or even the 'Jamaican Royal Family', but in the
Canadian context it is most correct to say the 'Canadian Royal
Family' or simply the 'Royal Family' (since I think most
people will get what you mean). If I were a bit more cynical I
would assume the question is framed this way to deny the
Royal Family's legitimacy as a Canadian institution or to
imply it only matters to one of Canada's ethnic groups. But I
digress.

Trudeau's answer goes off the rails immediately, however.
"Canadians pay minimal amounts to the British Monarchy.
When the Queen is here she becomes the Queen of Canada
and there are costs associated with that." As I was about to
facepalm at the reference to paying taxes to the British
Monarchy Trudeau goes a step further and states that the
Queen somehow only becomes Queen of Canada when she is
here. That is false and Trudeau ought to know it is false. But
I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt since its the
last question of an hour-long Q&A session. He does point out
that he doesn't think eliminating the monarchy is an effective
cost saving measure. Ok, that answer was a little rough
around the edges but he might do better as he goes on.

"The question needs to be; do we need to eliminate the
monarchy from Canada in order to succeed more as a
country? Is the monarchy holding us back in things we
would like to do but are unable to do and succeed as a
country?" He then answers that he is a pragmatic in that he
doesn't see what benefits having a Canadian-born head of
state would bring. He then goes into the more standard
argument that having a head of state that does not involve
themselves politically is a good thing. He touches on how the monarchy's setup today is a tradition going back 150 years
and if we started up a new country today called Canada we
might choose to not have a head of state that lives in a
different country (interestingly he doesn't say he believes we
wouldn't choose to have a monarchy again).

"It isn't harming us or preventing our success." If you want to
listen to the full answer Justin Trudeau gave the link is at the
top of the article. Lets be clear, his answer was an argument
for Canada remaining a monarchy and I will give him credit
for that. But as the Monarchist League of Canada has
pointed out Trudeau seemed to rely more on negative
arguments for the monarchy's defence (ie. arguing against
change rather than arguing for monarchy in its own right).

This is unfortunate as there are a lot of positive arguments for
monarchy. People have made those arguments. Prominent Canadians have made those arguments throughout our
history. It shouldn't be too much to expect our prime minister
to be able to make a positive case for not only keeping our
monarchy but celebrating it.

Perhaps more worrying is his final statements that future
leaders might decide to ending the monarchy is important. If
he made that statement at any other event I wouldn't raise an
eyebrow. But this was a youth forum which presumably has
those future leaders Trudeau was referring to. Was this
statement added in to encourage them to pursue this? I don't
know but the Prime Minister's answers should raise concern.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Just a Pamphlet I Found

3/8/2018

While leaving the Riverview Public
Library I happened to notice a pamphlet
with 'Monarchy' in bright red type (ok,
that was a lie. I noticed the Queen's
image first). The pamphlet was put out by
the Monarchist League of Canada and
gives a good, although brief, overview of
Canada's monarchy. As far as I can tell
the League doesn't count this pamphlet
among its publications or resources on
its website. I will come back to this point
later.

The cover image is from the Queen's last
royal tour of Canada in 2010.

The body of the pamphlet is divided into five sections.

The Canadian Monarchy - An overview of the Crown's
history and the benefits of a non-partisan and hereditary head
of state. The image at the top is of the Queen and a Mountie
looking at something out of frame. Both are serious and I find
the image to be an effective one.

The Queen Speaks To Canadians - A selection of four
quotes by Her Majesty intended to illustrate her role as head
of state. The picture at the top is of Prince Charles and a First
Nation's chief. While it doesn't match the text below it the
importance of underlining the Crown's long friendship with
the First Nations makes it a good picture to place there.

Learning About The Canadian Crown - This section
talks about the League website and what resources it has. The
image at the top is of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
with Prince George. Taken together the images running along
the top show the current monarch and three generations of
heirs.

The last two sections are French translations of the first and
third sections. There is a bit of unused space that could have
been used for another picture. It is also unfortunate we
couldn't have a section with Her Majesty quoted in French
(since she is fluent).

The pamphlets are clearly recent. But the lack of information
on the League's website makes it unclear if they are sent out
to members by request, come as part of an education package,
or are sent out to libraries/public officials. It might be an
interesting idea to include a printable version on the website.
The advantage of pamphlets is that they can be placed just
about anywheres. Allowing members to print them off
themselves would increase the range of the pamphlets. Sure,
you lose the glossy finish but I think they would look good
regardless.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Republican Resolution Submitted to the 2018 NDP Policy Convention

2/14/2018

The New Democratic Party of Canada is holding its policy
convention this weekend in Ottawa. The Monarchist
League of Canada was tipped off that a resolution has been
submitted for debate on ending the Canadian monarchy:

The League has been told that there is a good chance the
resolution will not even be considered (which is standard for
conventions with large numbers of policy suggestions).
However the League has suggested two courses of action to its
members. 1. Contact convention delegates to express concern
about the resolution and 2. Write a polite letter to the NDP's
leader Jagmeet Singh to state support for the crown and
opposition to the position in the above resolution.

Trouble-making during policy conventions is nothing new
(the Liberal Party had a similar motion come up at their
policy convention years ago which was voted down). However,
after an extremely disappointing result in the last election and
a growing feeling that the NDP has traded its principles for a
shot at power it is not inconceivable that this resolution could
pass as a sort of 'feel good gesture'. That is assuming it comes
up for a vote at all.

This motion comes on the heels of of Jagmeet Singh making
clear he is less than supportive of the monarchy. It is
possible some members proposed this motion in the hope
that Mr. Singh would be more inclined to support it than
previous leaders. It is a disappointing development which
may yet come to nothing. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Several members of the Monarchist League's
youth wing successfully blocked the resolution at the policy
panel stage. It will not be debated during the plenary sessions.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The Monarchist League of Canada's Submission to the Committee Examining Bill C-51

11/11/2017

The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights is
currently combing through Canada's legal code for laws that
have become obsolete either through changes in behavior or
by being superseded by other laws. It is a necessary process
of de-cluttering the legal code that should happen from time
to time.

Flag of the Monarchist League of Canada

As it happens the Monarchist
League of Canada was asked to
submit a brief on a specific
section of the Criminal Code.
Specifically, Section 413. This
part of the Criminal Code deals
with falsely claiming to hold a
royal warrant.

For those who are not aware a 'royal warrant' is permission
granted to specific tradesmen to advertise that a product they
produce is used by the royal household. It generally denotes
the quality and prestige of whatever good is so designated.
The question at hand was whether there needed to be a law to
punish unscrupulous merchants who falsely claimed to hold
a privilege.

The League's submission to the committee (which I have as a
PDF below) states they do not believe it necessary to have a
law for this issue.

monarchistleagueofcanadac-51.pdf
File Size:	17 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

"During the 47 years during which the League has existed, we have not been made
aware, nor been asked for media comment, in respect of any prosecution under this
Clause. Indeed, we have little experience even of the sort of harmless infraction
which it presumably contemplates. We have run into are examples that could be
construed as a claim that the goods in question “are made for the service of Her
Majesty...” but where the material facts are not themselves false, and where we
cannot conceive of any Crown Prosecutor preferring a charge..."

The League goes on to make a few other points in its brief but
the overall conclusion is that Section 413 has likely never been
used and likely won't be in the future. The quote by Plato at
the end was a nice touch too.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The Monarchist League on Facebook

5/31/2017

Ironically, for all the talk of the internet isolating people it
also has great usefulness in bringing people together. The
Monarchist League of Canada has various social media
accounts, of course, but some may not know that the
League's many branches maintain at least a Facebook
presence. I have taken the time to list them below:

New Brunswick
Facebook
Twitter

Halifax - SW Nova Scotia
Facebook

Northumberland and NE Nova Scotia

Quebec
Facebook

Ottawa - Ontario
Facebook

Barrie-Huronia - Ontario
Facebook

University of Toronto - Ontario
Facebook

Waterloo-Wellington - Ontario
Facebook

South Saskatchewan
Facebook
Twitter

Lethbridge and Medicine Hat - Alberta
Facebook

Victoria - British Columbia
Facebook

I find it encouraging that most of these pages have a healthy
number of members and are active. Even better, each page
has avoided that common pitfall of redundancy. They all have
a little bit of individuality to what is posted rather than being carbon copies of the League's main page.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Victoria Day Odds & Ends

5/22/2017

Queen Victoria at four years of age

Happy Victoria Day!

There is a few items I wanted to
cover this Victoria Day. The
Monarchist League of Canada
sent out an email on May 11th
with ideas for how to celebrate
Victoria Day with friends and
family. It is a good list. Myself,
I have the last two years treated
my coworkers to birthday cake.
It's a good way to inform people
that Victoria Day is also the
reigning monarch's birthday.

Former MP Brian Murphy took the occasion to write a mostly
positive tribute to the monarchy in the Times & Transcript on
Friday. I had a few small issues with the piece and will be
writing a reply but overall it was a welcome surprise.

On the subject of the media: I have noticed a certain tendency
towards using 'May Long Weekend' rather than referring to
Victoria Day itself. I'm inclined to believe this is one of those
time-saving measures used by the media rather than any sort
of effort to downplay Victoria Day.

Conservative Party Leadership Candidate Chris Alexander
sent out an email today. I have copied it below:

"Today we celebrate free institutions & the stability of monarchs.

Since Louis XIII (pictured below), the reigns of just six of them (including Louis XIV,
George III & Queen Victoria) account for almost three & a half centuries of
Canadian history. In Québec, today is the 'Journée nationale des patriotes' --
celebrating the struggle for national recognition, political freedoms & democracy.

All achieved under the Crown of Canada.

It's time to recognize the crown's role in our lives by:
- holding a coronation of our next monarch in Canada; &
- styling our country the Kingdom of Canada.

Without constitutional amendment, upheaval or drama.
With pomp, dignity & ceremony. For love of country.
To show what we're becoming -- our history & our potential.
These ideas for renewing the Crown of Canada are here.

Happy Victoria Day!"

The policy on having a Canadian coronation is one he told me
about when I met him at a candidates debate in Moncton. The
policy on styling Canada as a 'kingdom' is new to me though.

Finally, the month of May marks the 3rd anniversary of this
blog's founding. Hard to believe its been three years already.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Candidate Erin O'Toole and the Monarchy Revisited

4/9/2017

Recent events have necessitated a re-visiting
of Conservative Leadership Candidate Erin
O'Toole's views on the monarchy. This is
due to Mr. O'Toole objecting to my
characterization of his views in my last post.
This situation has been quite distressing as,
while not a journalist, I do try to be accurate
in reporting the views of others. Accuracy is
important in an era of 'fake news' and casual
regard for the truth. As such I took the
charge of misrepresentation very seriously.

In my previous post I stated that Mr. O'Toole 'refused' to
answer my questions regarding the monarchy. As a result
several people have interpreted this to mean that Mr. O'Toole
doesn't support the monarchy. It was not my intention at all!
While I might be disappointed in such refusals to reply to
questions I have always viewed a refusal as being an
essentially neutral response. However, I understand why
people might not read it that way and for that I apologize.
Further, Mr. O'Toole has stated that the idea he 'refused' to answer my question is simply false. I have more to say on this
but first I would like to go over the events that led to this
point.

I would like to quickly review the process I used to contact
Mr. O'Toole (and the other candidates). My primary method
of communication has been email for a couple of reasons:
-Its often the primary means of contacting the candidate.
-It creates a written record that I can refer back to.
-Searching for an email is easier than most social media posts.

However, as the months started ticking down I did start also
contacting candidates via Facebook. This did yield results and
I did not perceive of it as being a potential problem. The
following is the private message I sent to Mr. O'Toole's
campaign through Facebook on January 30th:

"Greetings Mr. O'Toole,
NOTE: I have previously contacted the candidate at least twice over the last few months and have not received a response.
My name is [Named Redacted] and I am looking to get a better idea of the views of the Conservative Party leadership candidates so I may cast an informed vote. Could I get your views on the following?
1. What are your views on the monarchy?
2. What are your views on intellectual property?
3. What are your views on Basic Income/Mincome?
4. Do you support Canada joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my message.
Best Regards,
[Named Redacted]"

As you may notice I actually polled Mr. O'Toole on various
areas of policy. This format is consistent across all of the
candidates I contacted. On February 27th I received the
following reply:

"Hi [Named Redacted]. Sorry for the delay in response. I appreciate you sending me a message!
While I don't have these detailed policy positions right now, I am working on it. At
this time I am putting forward a number of policy papers on how I would govern
Canada. I am reaching out to hear what Conservatives are thinking because I am
running a campaign of ideas and innovation that reflects where our country is
going and what we need to do to succeed. I intend to release my policy proposals in
the near future. These are intended to provoke discussion amongst members. They
will not be top-down policies, nor will there be two dozen of them. They will
represent key priorities that I want all Conservatives to consider as we build the
winning team for the next election. So far I have created policies for immigration,
jobs, farming, firearms and Veterans which you can read about on my website
www.erinotoole.ca If you would like to join the mission please send an email to
[email protected]. I would love to have you on my team for CPC leadership
and our victory in 2019!"

At the time I interpreted this reply
as a brush-off and a failure to
answer the questions I had asked.
However, in hindsight 'refusal' was
too strong of a word to have used. I
will concede this was a poor word
choice and I would like to apologize
to Mr. O'Toole for the mis-
characterization of his stance, no matter how unintentional. I
would also like to apologize to the Monarchist League of
Canada as I inadvertently put them in a difficult situation.

If any good came out of this situation it is that Mr. O'Toole
has released a statement to the League outlining his views on
the monarchy:

"I was very proud to have received The Queen's Commission in the Canadian
Armed Forces, and it hangs in my office. I have worked indirectly with the Royal
Family on the True Patriot Love Foundation - a military charity I co-founded - and
for which I received Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee medal. The photo book of
Prince Harry's visit to Canada House for this charity sits on the coffee table in my
Hill office. And it was this organization that successfully bid for Canada to host this
year's Invictus Games, led by Prince Harry. There is nobody in the race who has
more of a direct association with the monarchy, nor, I believe, is there anyone in
the race who has been more publicly supportive of the monarchy than I. One of my
most widely reported policies during this race is all about working closer with our
Commonwealth allies. I have raised the monarchy and its strengths in my many
discussions about the CANZUK policy, which would create a trade and security
pact for Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The above is a snapshot to
give you a flavour of my track record and consistent and steadfast support for the
monarchy as a foundational element of our parliamentary democracy and a
positive force in our society."

I have added a note to the original post directing readers here
as well as updated the Five Crown Scoreboard to reflect new
information I have learned. I will also be reviewing the
processes I use in contacting public figures to see if there is
room for improvement.

Apologetically Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Monarchist League of Canada Publishes 6th Triennial Survey on the Cost of the Canadian Crown

11/18/2016

Canadian Monarchist League Flag

The Monarchist League of Canada
announced this week the completion
of its 6th Survey on the cost of the
Canadian Monarchy. The survey is
done every three years and serves to
give accurate information on how
much the monarchy costs Canadians.

The Cost of Canada’s Constitutional Monarchy

The survey found that the monarchy costs Canadians approx.
$54,995,107 (or $1.53 per Canadian) during the fiscal year
2014-2015. This represents a drop of 7% since the last survey.
The survey includes comparisons with other government
institutions such as the Senate ($2.38 per Canadian), House
of Commons ($11.76 per Canadian), and CBC ($28.95 per
Canadian).

The survey is quite detailed and helps counter disinformation
spread by republicans as to what the monarchy actually costs.
Often such disinformation is spread in order to argue that a
president would be cheaper for Canada. The section looking at
the costs of several different republican heads of state is
included for this reason.

League's Coat of Arms

In other League news three new Branch
Chairmen have started:
-Angela Barrett has become Chairman of
the new Prince Edward Island Branch.
-Dave Willer has become Chairman of the
Niagara Region Branch which has split from
the Greater Hamilton Region.
-Bobby Paolini has taken over the Greater
Hamilton Region Branch.

As well, Paul Partington has taken on the task of forming a
Young Monarchist group in the Halifax area. The League does
good work and its initiatives are always appreciated.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The Young Monarchists: An Interview With Dylan Mainprize

7/17/2016

The Monarchist League of Canada has announced that Neil
MacAlasdair has stepped down as National Young Monarchist
Chairman in order to continue his studies at Cambridge
University. Taking his place as National Chairman is Dylan
Mainprize of Dundas, Ontario. I caught up with Dylan in
order to ask him about his new duties.

A Kisaragi Colour: Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Dylan Mainprize: Well I'm a 4th year student at McMaster
University studying communication studies and history. For
the most part I'd said I'm not terribly out of the ordinary, I
love hockey (the Montreal Canadiens specifically), soccer,
running, rugby, jokes and spending time with my friends -
nothing particularly exceptional. I'd said what defines me
most as a person is my loyalty to my country. My friends often
joke that I can be a tad over-zealous at times with in comes to
my nation, but the way I see it the love of country is an
inherently selfless love. A focus on your community has the
greater capacity to promote good as opposed to an inward-
looking individualistic focus, which is not necessarily a
negative thing but not really my style.

AKC: How did you come to be a monarchist?

DM: I'm a monarchist because I'm Canadian. Perhaps not a
complicated answer, but the most accurate one. I support my
country in all its endeavours and I do not separate the concept
of my country and my Queen. Her Majesty the Queen, and the
Crown in general, is deeply intertwined with Canadian
culture, of which I am a product of - I was taught English and
French (the ladder unfortunately is not at the level it should
be), read "The Hockey Sweater", studied our history and
indeed raised to recognize the benefits I have because of my
Queen and Country. The Crown is a part of my heritage - a
part of Canadian heritage.

AKC: You have just been named the National Chairman of
the Young Monarchists. How did this come about?

DM: I've been a member of the League for a while now and
with Neil MacAlasdair stepping down to pursue his studies I
suppose I seemed to be a logical choice. I hesitate to declare
myself a uniquely charismatic person, I'd not want to seem
too self-aggrandizing, but I do believe I'm good a interacting
with people and building relationships. For that reason I do
believe I will be an effective representative of the League and
Chairman of the Young Monarchists.

AKC: What will your duties consist of?

DM: My duties will be to promote the League among our
nation's youth, help organize existing Young Monarchists and
to grow youth membership.

AKC: You mentioned before that you are a student at
McMaster University. What has been the response to the
Young Monarchists on campus?

DM: I'd say the response has been mostly positive. Many
University students are curious about the Crown in Canada
and often passively support its vital role. The struggle is to
translate this passive support into a more active support. I do
not necessarily expect every student with monarchist leanings
to join the League, of course I'd be thrilled for them to join,
but I see any student going out of their way to learn more
about one of their culture's most important institutions to be
a success story. Once in while I will run into a fervent
republican but I'd say overt hostility to the Crown and the
League is rare.

AKC: The Young Monarchists recently produced a series of
videos about its activities which were posted and shared
online. How important do you feel online promotion is
compared to word of mouth?

DM: Given the huge role social media and the internet play in
today's society, particularly among the youth, I consider
maintaining and expanding an online presence to be of
utmost importance. As with any national organization the
League has to go where the people are. Today people are
spending more and more time online, adapting to the new
media landscape is how the League can build a larger
following among the youth. Gaining followers by word of
mouth is certainly wonderful but online expansion has
potential to reach new audiences that may not have any
substantial connections to the League.

I'd like to thank Dylan for taking the time to answer my questions and I look forward to seeing what direction he takes
the Young Monarchists in the future.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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