Expats! Check Out Queen Elizabeth of Canada – And, Harper, Fire Republican Slackers
Surprising to hear that the Harper government has actually had to circulate Canada’s embassies with REMINDERS to ensure the Queen of Canada’s portrait is on display in each diplomatic outpost!
According to the Globe and Mail. 7/9, ‘it’s the latest effort by the Conservatives to demonstrate support for Canada’s sovereign and part of a steady Tory campaign to champion more traditional elements of this country’s national identity, including the military.’
Well, darn right too. But if any Ambassador has hitherto failed to have placed our Head of State in a place of honour, perhaps a prompt transffer to Mogadishu or some similarly desirable posting might be in order?
The instruction to install royal portraits in all of Canada’s foreign missions – scattered throughout 150 countries – calls for the pictures to be in place by Sept. 15, a government official said.
Cleary, there must be some embassies run by slackers and/or traitorous knaves
The Tories acknowledged that most Canadian offices abroad already hang a portrait of the Queen but said the new order is “simply to ensure conformity” across the board. They declined to identify scofflaw missions.
Harper’s hiding the identities of the curs? Well, that’s something we expats can handle. Let’s drop by our respective embassies and report any republican slug ambassadors who are guilty of indolence or treason.
Gar Pardy, a former Canadian diplomat, recalled one foreign mission where Canada didn’t hang the Queen. “I remember that most embassies use to carry a picture of the Queen somewhere in the public area. The only exception was Argentina and there for obvious reasons,” he said, referring to the Falklands War.
Not acceptable…if the Argies didn’t take well to their well-deserved thrashing after their imperialist aggression, tough, but Canada should still have HM smiling down magnaminously on the defeated in Buenos Aires.
The Conservatives have repeatedly tried to build respect for the monarchy since taking office more than five years ago, putting an emphasis on hanging portraits of the Queen in places such as the Prime Minister’s Office. One of Stephen Harper’s veteran aides, Ray Novak, is a staunch monarchist.
We can recall the pathetic attempts by BA to replace the Union Jack on their aircraft. That was when I switched my custom to other airlines. Maggie Thatcher took a stand, entirely different from the stand taken by Turdeau, who wanted to replace the Mounties, the ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE, with the soppy Quebec-crawling ‘Police Canada.’
Concerned citizens beat back the traitor Turdeau. And we can do the same with this issue. I know it’s a hassle dropping by embassies in foreign parts. Here in Jakarta, it used to be easy to go into the OZ Embassy and sit around all arvo reading their mags. No more. The Islamist savages screwed that up too, with their murderous bomb!
Now it’s almost as time-consuming going through security as it is to do whatever business needs done. But fear not.
Sometime after – not before – the deadline of 15th September, one of us will visit, and check and report back. Hopefully, the current staff are of better quality than those running the place six or so years ago. Then they had a big party to celebrate an anniversary of Indo-Can relations, and what did we get in the fancy book they produced to mark the day?
A sad little story of some poor Canadian bint who ‘converted,’ to Islam , totally one-sided editorialising, not a word about any Canadian who brought his or her spouse into Christianity, which is after all the majority creed in Canada. Obviously the book was produced by an Islam-grovelling sectarian.
But that was then and this is now. Let’s hope Jakarta has HM in a prominent place. Otherwise we’ll nail the rats. And c’mon Harper, name and shame the dirty dorks who have failed to demonstrate allegiance in the proper way.
Colin Robertson, a former Canadian diplomat, said the moves at Foreign Affairs suggest that it’s Mr. Baird who has a particular affinity for the monarchy. He could not recall previous Conservative foreign affairs ministers driving similar initiatives.
Earlier this summer, Mr. Baird ordered colourful modern artworks by Quebec painter Alfred Pellan removed from the lobby of the Department of Foreign Affairs and replaced with a portrait of Elizabeth II.
Good for Baird, if that’s the case. And Mr. Harper, make sure we don’t get wimpy ministers like his predecessors back again. Canada needs loyalty, not shilly-shallying.
dignified expat, 
Bob the Brit, and 1 other are discussing. 
rossrightangle 
vojo 01:58 on September 9, 2011 Permalink |
Ross, I’m no monarchist, but since Queen Elizabeth II of England (she’s not of Canada; there’s nothing Canadian about her) is our head of state, her portrait should hang in places like embassies and parliament.
The reason it doesn’t always is that most Canadians, apparently including even a lot of embassy staff, don’t understand that the Queen of England is Canada’s head of state. A fairly recent poll showed that 95% of Canadians thought that the PM was the head of state and government.
Other polls have shown that most Canadians couldn’t care less about the monarchy. I suspect that when the present Queen passes away and republican movements gather steam in places like Australia and New Zealand, Canada will also look for a replacement to this anachronistic system of government.
Ross, you favour referenda in many cases of national interest. I believe that even if a referendum were held today in Canada to abolish the monarchy, it would probably pass. Once the present Queen passes away, change that to certainly. Most Canadians today are not of English or even British descent, and the rest of us feel no connection to Britain; many Quebeckers are downright hostile to the idea of a British head of state.
Harper and Baird may be monarchists, but they are risking a big backlash from the ambivalent majority by pushing the monarchy, like for example changing the names of the airforce and navy back to “Royal”. If they push it too far they’ll only speed up the demise of the monarchy in this country.
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ross1948 14:21 on September 9, 2011 Permalink |
Regret to say it, vojo, but you are wrong, for she is HM Queen Elizabeth of Canada. Check your Constitution. As for popular support, yes, there are a lot of republicans, but most of them are in Quebec, which has always been a disgracefully disloyal place. Exclude the Quebeckers and you’ll see what I mean.
Anyway, the last poll I can find was taken after the Queen’s last visit, An Angus Reid poll just after the Queen’s visit found that 36% of Canadians want Canada to remain a monarchy, 30% prefer having an elected head of state, and 21% felt it made no difference to them
Time will tell.
As far as your point about citizens of non-British descent being less monarchist goes, that was not always the case.
My own kin married into German and Pennsylvania Dutch families who had happily adapted to the loyalist Ontario culture, and John Diefenbaker, a true royalist, was obvioulsy not a Scot nor an Englishman by origin!
The difference nowadays is the relentless removal of the royal presence in school,s where we used to sing ‘God Save Our Queen and Heaven Bless, the Maple Leaf Forever. Now they don’t even have portraits of HM in the school assembly hall,
Since Turdeau’s time, or Pearson’s , symbols of Canada’s royal heritage have been pudhed out of public life, eg the RCN,the RCAF and we were lucky the vile Turdeau didn’t get away with his scheme to scrap the RCMP. Small wonder younger Canadians are out of touch with their glorious British North American legacy!
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vojo 03:50 on September 10, 2011 Permalink
Semantics, Ross. She is Queen of Canada because of our peculiar and bizarre constitutional arrangement; in the same way she is queen of Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and about 10 other countries. My point was that she is English! And the whole inbred brood that will succeed her is English. Not Canadian, nor Scottish, Irish, Australian, or even New Guinean! The institution is fine. The point is that it is foreign, English, British, or whatever; what the hell do Canadians want with a foreign “head of state”? We’ve been independent for so long, and we have so very little to do with Britain that the whole notion is laughable.
You might be right about the cause of our disenchantment with all that is British Royal; however, I think it would happen over time anyway. Canada has come of its own. Britain, on the other hand, has joined the EU; it’s hardly even an independent country anymore, as you have lamented many times.
If Canada had to change its constitution, its system of government, then we shouldn’t change it much. We should simply adopt a Canadian “Royalty” as head of state. I propose 6 year terms chosen from Aboriginal Peoples in Canada to be that King or Queen, or Governor General. The main point is that it’s ridiculous in modern day Canada that we have a foreigner as a head of state.
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ross1948 11:15 on September 10, 2011 Permalink
Interesting idea ,vojo, about having an ‘Aboriginal’ as head of state in an elective Canadian monarchy.
Something like a revival of the ancient Iroquois Confederation? I shall mull that one over!
Incidentally, HM may have an English accent, but the same can be said for many Scots who live and work there. I think you underestimate the Commonwealth essence of the monarchy.When in Canada, she is indeed Canadian.
And our monarchs are not especially inbred these days, whatever may once have been the case.
As to the EU, one hopes its dreadful days are numbered. Heath and his ilk betrayed Canada annd Australia and NZ as much as they did the UK.
I do think the Royal Family should actually live in each if their realms on a more regular basis.
I think in years to come, Queen kate would lend charm and grace to the Canadian Court..
,
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dignified expat 03:51 on September 10, 2011 Permalink |
Honest to god man, do you not think the poor embassy staff have better things to do than interior decorating? When you say ‘one of us’ will be going to check, do you mean to say there is another so-called Canuck here who cares about this issue? I’d gainsay the blokes I know who are employed at the embassy would likely die laughing at your pathetic mission before roundly telling you to go mate with yourself. And really, threatening people’s jobs over this issue? Seems all that Bintang has shrunk your brain and inflated your ego. Again, I’d hazard the staff at WTC will sooner dismiss you as the crank you truly are, before acquiescing to your ludicrous demands.
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ross1948 11:35 on September 10, 2011 Permalink |
Oh dear, You must be having a bad hair day to get so tetchy, sir.
Rest assured, the embassy staff to the best of my knowledge, are nowhere near as coarse or irresponsible as your good self.
If you really did know them, you’d not disparage them so readily.
It’s yourself that comes across as ‘ludicrous’ and ‘cranky’ with your abusive tone. Of course there are plenty of Canadians here and in other foreign capitals who are monarchist. You may be Canadian, though you don’t sound it, and you may be republican, but your shrilling does your cause no credit.
And ‘threatening people’s jobs?’
If the PM of Canada and his External Affairs Minister issue a legitimate instruction, then embassy staff are obliged to follow through, and if they refuse, then the consequences are both reasonable and predictable. Complying with their recently re-iterated duty to place a portrait on the wall of the Embassy is hardly going to over-work anyone, is it?
Once more, you indicate that the ID you have chosen to write under is highly inappropriate. Your transfer of your own drinking problem to others is sad. But I’m not vindictive -if I see you slumped on a kemang pavement, I’ll help you up and hail a taxi – I know you are far too ‘dignifed’ to shae public transport with mere locals.
Incidentally, since you are obsessed with spending as much of your salary as possible in ways calculated to ‘impress’ locals, let me recommend a shoe-shop in Mal Ambassador.
Today i got a great pair of black shoes to go with that wedding suit that so incensed you – discount 50%, a snip at Rp.360,000, so you’d have all that extra cash to spend on your beloved Balinese beer, which I presume influences these hysterical comments.
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Bob the Brit 19:17 on September 11, 2011 Permalink |
Why don’t you sad Canadian monarchist freaks pay to transfer the royal cabal from here in Britain over to Canada lock stock and barrel, thereby relieving us in Britain of the tedium of having to listen to, read of, and watch TV propaganda in relation to these jackasses and their supposed virtuous lives. You could then have prince Charles meddling in your government ministers public policy decision making, you could then have prince Andrew as your trade envoy, bringing the Canadian government into disrepute with his boorish behaviour while representing you abroad, you could provide round the clock security for Andrew’s daughters while they drop in and out of nightclubs, you could have them all as far as I’m concerned, with pleasure. But please keep your PM, he sounds like a brilliant recruiter for the Canadian Republic Movement, more power to his elbow in that respect.
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vojo 15:41 on September 12, 2011 Permalink |
Thanks for your generous invitation to offload those royal freeloaders onto us, Bob, but we already put up the Queen’s well-paid representative the governor general in a government mansion, and let him or her use a government jet for personal vacations. We simply can’t afford that whole royal family. Maybe you Brits could do the whole Commonwealth a big favour and get rid of them for us.
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ross1948 15:44 on September 12, 2011 Permalink
vojo, if you get rid of the G-G, you’ll still need a head of state, who will still need a house, and a jet, and all the other stuff.
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Bob the Brit 19:28 on September 12, 2011 Permalink
If only Vojo. Of course if you get rid of the governor general and elect a head of state instead, that head of state would be properly accountable , and his/her extended family wouldn’t be on the payroll either, so his son couldn’t have undue influence and be able to summon government ministers to meetings to discuss issues that interested him, and his brother wouldn’t be appointed trade envoy unless properly qualified to perform the task, so the man whose job is to carry the trade envoys ironing board everywhere would be out of a job unfortunately. You wouldn’t have the head of state’s son being able to circumvent legal planning processes and get his way about how the architecture of anything built should be, he wouldn’t be able to start a ‘charity’ called the Institute for the Built Environment and lobby for every planning application in your capitol to be reviewed by it, to see if they fitted his favoured architectural criteria. There would be no need, as here apparently, to give the head of state and his/her extended family blanket exemption from Freedom of Information to ‘maintain the impression of impartiality’ as one of our politicians justified the move here. Maybe you should give it some thought.
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vojo 02:59 on September 13, 2011 Permalink
I’d be in favour of an elected head of state along the lines of the German republican model, a president or even a governor general with similar powers to what ours has now. As you say that type of head of state would be accountable, not like the current royals who seem to be above the law and worse than useless.
Is there much of a republican movement in Britain? Here in Canada we are mostly indifferent to the monarchy. As I stated earlier most Canadians, some 95% apparently, are not even aware the Queen of England is our head of state. Her image is on the $20 bill, and on the coins, but other than that, the royalty is mostly not in our face. It is one of the two main things that make this country different from the USA, so it’s useful to that extent.
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Bob the Brit 16:48 on September 13, 2011 Permalink |
We have a lively republican movement, but of course we are in the minority due to the wall to wall mainly pro-royal propaganda from the BBC and the newspapers.
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dignified expat 11:04 on September 15, 2011 Permalink |
Good news, granddad! I spoke to someone at your embassy and although he concurred with my assessment that they are waaaay to busy to be dealing with such trivialities, a discussion was held as to where the portrait of your beloved sovereign will be mounted! You should thank me for having saved your the cost of a kopaja fare and the raised blood pressure you would have suffered!
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ross1948 02:42 on September 16, 2011 Permalink |
Good morning, D.E. I do thank you for the enquiry, and note the implicit current absence of the portrait.
However, I am not yet a grandad, though when that comes to pass, my canny habits will enable me to celebrate in style!
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dignified expat 03:24 on September 16, 2011 Permalink |
Good for you and glad to be of assistance.
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