Canadian identity with and without the monarchy
Re Canada 150 project: End the monarchy: Hepburn, July 5 It will be quite difficult to end the monarchy given that it will require the unanimous consent of all ten provinces.
Regardless of whether we are able to end the monarchy in the near future, I believe that the monarch’s image should be removed from our currency after the death of Queen Elizabeth.
My suggestion would be alternating images of Macdonald and Laurier on our coins and another prominent Canadian on the $20 bill. For the $20 bill I favour the Mohawk poet Pauline Johnson, though there are certainly many other worthy candidates. Bruce Couchman, Ottawa
“After living in the United States for 15 years and being subject to American bogus ideology, I recently returned to Canada saying ‘God save the Queen.’ ” GREGORY PHILLIPS TORONTO
I remember watching the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth on TV, 1953. I was 9 years old. We did not have a TV yet, but I watched at a neighbour’s house.
Over the years, I have been pleased and happy with the Queen and the monarchy.
However, and I say this with great respect, Canada may have outgrown the monarchy. I think that a change could be initiated and welcomed by the Canadian people and the monarchy. A very special connection would surely be maintained forever after.
Having watched the elegance and the expertise of his Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Gov. Gen. of Canada, and his wife Sharon, they are the ideal couple to replace the Queen. Not as the Canadian King and Queen, but in a similar position of high respect. Lorne I. Ordel, Toronto Yes, please! Let’s have an elected head of state we can revere and respect, one who can command true patriot love in all our hearts . . . like the United States has. Ian Goble, Ajax Canada is founded on the basis of adherence to the monarchy at the time of the American Revolution.
Without the monarchy, Canada as the nation we know today would not exist. A lack of a clear identity based on a serious difference of principle would allow all distinctions to gradually blur between Canada and the U.S.
After living in the United States for 15 years and being subject to American bogus ideology, I recently returned to Canada saying “God save the Queen.”
The monarchy is a shield for Canada’s identity and independence.
Lets not throw it away when we need it most. Gregory Phillips, Toronto Re It’s time to shed the last vestiges of colonial
ism, July 2 This is a highly commendable article, and the advice given by Mandy Pipher should be heeded.
But Pipher doesn’t go far enough in denouncing colonialism. If she had, she would have dealt with Canada’s shameful (or shameless, take your pick) support of British and European colonialism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Canada stood by and did nothing about the gross injustices and repugnant racism of colonialism in India, Africa, the Caribbean and South East Asia. What Canada obtained in 1867 was achieved by the countries in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean many decades later. With Zimbabwe and Rhodesia it was more than a century later (1980). Canada did not exactly play the most honourable role in all these countries’ struggles and transitions. If it wasn’t silence or acquiescence, it was outright support for the British and other colonial powers.
A more thorough delving into this subject would mention Canada’s role in colonialism outside its borders. Varun Shekhar, Toronto