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Sunday, November 15, 2009 | Categories: Episodes
Interviewed by Rex Murphy on the November 15, 2009 program
"Is it time to retire the monarchy in Canada?"
Rex Murphy's introduction to the November 15, 2009 program:
"Is it time to retire the monarchy in Canada?"
Canada has just had a major visit from the British Royals.
The future king Prince Charles and his wife Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall just finished an eleven-day tour of Canada ...and the reception was low-key and polite but certainly more reserved than previous visits. One has but to think back to the visit of Charles and Diana in the 80's and remember the great crowds and unrelenting coverage of that trip. Or even earlier ones, when the Queen herself visited here.
Polls suggest that Canadians admire and respect the Queen but have much less enthusiasm for the immediate heir to the throne. Charles, is low-voltage - his sons, in fact, excite greater enthusiasm and coverage. Perhaps the simple fact of "being so long in the line" has worn against him, as well as being, inevitably, overshadowed by Diana and the immense storm that raged after her tragic death.
Today we want to talk about the monarchy in Canada. Has this long-lived institution finally come to the end of its useful life - especially here in Canada? Do we need the "surrogacy" of a Royal Presence in England as a "backup" for the institutional status of head of state here? Do we need the "Crown" at all?
Our own Governors General - think just of the last two - seem to have an independent respect, partly a gift of background and personality. Just what is "given" them by being seen as living "stand-ins" for the real thing?
Supporters of the republican option for Canada say it's time to start thinking of alternatives once the Crown is handed down. Monarchists say the system works fine as it has for more than a hundred years ....and to contemplate change is to launch Canadians into a period of constitutional bickering and instability. Any who remember the Meech Lake and Charlottetown negotiations will know what they're talking about.
Still, for some, the idea of the monarchy in Canada represented by a Queen or King based in another country is an anachronism. They say even our own Governor General, who is the Queen's representative, is more popular here.
What do you think? Is it time for a change ...or would that change be too disruptive?
Two other large Commonwealth countries, Australia and New Zealand have vigorous republican movements that might well succeed over the next few years. Is it time for Canada to enter into a similar discussion?
What do you think of the Queen? What about the heir to the throne Prince Charles? If Canada were to replace the monarchy, what would it be replaced with?
Our question today: "Is it time to retire the monarchy in Canada?"
I'm Rex Murphy ...on CBC Radio One ...and on Sirius satellite radio channel 137 ...this is Cross Country Checkup.
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