MONTREAL (WMR)—In addition to pushing the neoconservative agenda in Canada, Tory Prime Minister Stephen Harper is also turning back the clock and restoring the Canadian head of state profile of Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Canada by a Governor-General, to full Canadian monarch status.
Since winning a majority in the Canadian parliament, Harper and his Conservative government, particularly the monarchist Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, have been working to restore the Queen as the de jure Head of State of Canada. The government began the process last month by restoring “royal” to the names of the Canadian navy and air force. Baird has now issued an order for all 150 Canadian diplomatic missions abroad to place a portrait of Elizabeth II in the public lobbies of the embassies and missions, alongside those of the Governor-General and Harper. The Globe and Mail is reporting in its September 8 issue that some Canadian embassies balked at placing a portrait of the Queen in their lobbies but declined to specify which embassies were the hold-outs. The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa has also removed modern art work by Quebec painter Alfred Pellan and replaced it with a portrait of the Queen.
Where the re-royalization of Canada will stop in anyone’s guess. Many Tories were never happy that in 1965 the Liberal government of Prime Minister Lester Pearson scrapped the old Union Flag, the red ensign with the British Union Jack in its canton, and replaced it with the current red and white Maple Leaf flag, sans the Union Jack. Some Tories would like to see the Maple Leaf replaced by the old British standard. And yet other Tories would have no problem with replacing the national anthem, “O Canada” with “God Save the Queen.”
Some Canadian commentators have stated that even past Conservative governments, including those headed by Brian Mulroney, Joe Clark, and Kim Campbell, did not show as much fealty to the British monarchy as has Harper and his ministers.
With the Harper government restoring the British monarch’s symbolic presence in Canada, their ideological partners in the David Cameron government in London can be reassured that for as long as the Tories remain in power in Ottawa, “the sun will never set on the British empire.”
Previously published in the Wayne Madsen Report.
Copyright © 2011 WayneMadenReport.com
Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. He is the editor and publisher of the Wayne Madsen Report (subscription required).
MONTREAL (WMR)—In addition to pushing the neoconservative agenda in Canada, Tory Prime Minister Stephen Harper is also turning back the clock and restoring the Canadian head of state profile of Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Canada by a Governor-General, to full Canadian monarch status.
Since winning a majority in the Canadian parliament, Harper and his Conservative government, particularly the monarchist Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, have been working to restore the Queen as the de jure Head of State of Canada. The government began the process last month by restoring “royal” to the names of the Canadian navy and air force. Baird has now issued an order for all 150 Canadian diplomatic missions abroad to place a portrait of Elizabeth II in the public lobbies of the embassies and missions, alongside those of the Governor-General and Harper. The Globe and Mail is reporting in its September 8 issue that some Canadian embassies balked at placing a portrait of the Queen in their lobbies but declined to specify which embassies were the hold-outs. The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa has also removed modern art work by Quebec painter Alfred Pellan and replaced it with a portrait of the Queen.
Where the re-royalization of Canada will stop in anyone’s guess. Many Tories were never happy that in 1965 the Liberal government of Prime Minister Lester Pearson scrapped the old Union Flag, the red ensign with the British Union Jack in its canton, and replaced it with the current red and white Maple Leaf flag, sans the Union Jack. Some Tories would like to see the Maple Leaf replaced by the old British standard. And yet other Tories would have no problem with replacing the national anthem, “O Canada” with “God Save the Queen.”
Some Canadian commentators have stated that even past Conservative governments, including those headed by Brian Mulroney, Joe Clark, and Kim Campbell, did not show as much fealty to the British monarchy as has Harper and his ministers.
With the Harper government restoring the British monarch’s symbolic presence in Canada, their ideological partners in the David Cameron government in London can be reassured that for as long as the Tories remain in power in Ottawa, “the sun will never set on the British empire.”
Previously published in the Wayne Madsen Report.
Copyright © 2011 WayneMadenReport.com
Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. He is the editor and publisher of the Wayne Madsen Report (subscription required).
