Ross Andrews
The Tillsonburg News
December 2, 2009

There is nothing like a royal visit to get Canadians excited. The full colour photo of Tillsonburg chefs Jonathon and Cynthia Collins talking with Prince Charles on Page 1 of last Wednesday’s Tillsonburg Independent News gave us a sense of pride, didn’t it?

Canadians have very different ideas about the monarchy. Those who think monarchy is archaic perhaps outnumber those who consider themselves to be loyal subjects of the Queen.

Andrew Coyne, national editor of MacLean’s, did a fine job of reminding us why the Queen is important in the government of Canada.

It’s hard to convince people that Canada is not ruled by the Queen of England and so still a colony. The highest court of appeal in political matters is no longer the Privy Council of the House of Lords in Britain. It is the Supreme Court in Ottawa although the not withstanding clause gives our parliament the last word. Queen Elisabeth II is the Queen of Canada and the Queen of England. These are separate offices.

Coyne points out the fact that Canada has been ruled by monarchs since 1534, nine French and nine English. Prince Charles will be our nineteenth King of Canada.

The powers of the person who wears the crown have changed gradually down the centuries. King Louis XIV took a very personal interest in his Canadian subjects. He sent young women from France to be wives of settlers, calling them The King’s daughters.

Parliaments created Magna Carta and other constitutional acts to protect the people from the power of the monarch. Today the Queen or her representative in Canada is the last one to protect Canadians from a parliament that gets too uppity. Last year when politicians tried to oust the government and replace it with a coalition it was the governor general who exercized those powers. Many who have little knowledge of constitutional powers in this country criticized her.

The Queen has a great deal of influence beyond constitutional powers. Last week she urged leaders of the Commonwealth to work together to help control climate change. Did that have something to do with the announcement that some sort of agreement has been reached? Even Steven Harper indicated some sort of change of heart, hedged by reminders that it is by no means a done deal.

In this particular instance it’s to be hoped the Queen hasn’t fallen for the machinations of opportunists who see ways of funneling tax dollars into private pockets. We need to listen to Lawrence Solomon and Lorrie Goldstein. Even crusty Michael Corren is warning about "Climategate" as the Copenhagen conference draws nearer.

Some Canadians resent the money spent on royal visits. Political cartoonists have a ball with this. In a world where tourism is a major source of money we should remember the money spent on the visits stays in Canada and provides income for many people, even political cartoonists. People who are paid for serving the royals spend the money and as it percolates through the economy each dollar is multiplied several times.

Some people are calling for a resident monarch living in Canada and wearing only one crown. Choose a member of the royal family and start a new line of succession, sort of like slipping a geranium and putting it into a new pot. As Andrew Coyne wrote, changing the monarchy for a republic would require a revolution because of the convoluted way monarchy is woven into the constitution. Even splitting off a clone of the crown would be tough.

As an example of how the Crown fits into the rule of law, our police officers carry the Queen’s warrant. They do not swear allegiance to any politician and that is a great comfort to us who read about warlords with private armies in other countries or elected sheriffs in the USA.

When you think about it, how could we be better served by a resident ruler when the one we have lives on the far side of an ocean and only pays occasional visits?

Do we really want a Louis XIV living amongst us?