Prince Andrew’s latest scandal begs the question: Why does Canada still have a monarchy?
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We already have a Governer General, we wouldn’t even be changing any structures. Just removing the symbolic power and giving it to the Governer General to begin with.
Except that that opens an even larger can of worms.
Currently, the GG is selected on the PM’s recommendation. We’ve gotten away with that so far because there’s a disinterested party staring over the PM’s shoulder in the form of the monarch (reducing the chance of really dodgy recommendations) and because no PM has yet run off the rails the way Trump is doing down south.
In every government decision except the selection of the GG, the GG is the disinterested person staring over the PM’s shoulder. Even if they don’t normally exercise any power, I don’t want a position that could act as a check for the PM being decided on by the PM. So we then have to move to some other method of selecting the GG. The most usual method in other countries is by holding a separate election, but that immediately pisses a huge amount of money down the drain. And that’s without dragging in the constitutional amendment considerations.
I’d rather just spend a trivial (on national budget scales) amount of money on the monarchy and keep the worms firmly enclosed in their cylindrical metal containers, thanks very much.
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Sure. If attending a single dinner party back in 2014, makes them “buddies”.
And where was his first trip after becoming PM? What does his brother Sean do? Oh…?
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You can denounce whoever you want just remember who his friends are
I’m downvoting you not necessarily because I disagree but because this “source” (Facebook post of headline screenshotted with no URL) is horrendous
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Our symbolic ties to the monarchy are useful when facing annexation from the south. Can we not rightly denounce child predators without jettisoning one of our only lifelines on principle?
The UK caved to the US basically immediately. Hardly a reliable ally in this. They picked the US as besties over us, which should not really surprise. The financial ties of London and New York are stronger and far more alive in 2025 than the old Commonwealth ties of Canada and the UK, not to mention their security and intelligence ties.
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Sure. If attending a single dinner party back in 2014, makes them “buddies”.
And this one
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I’m downvoting you not necessarily because I disagree but because this “source” (Facebook post of headline screenshotted with no URL) is horrendous
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And where was his first trip after becoming PM? What does his brother Sean do? Oh…?
I have no idea. You tell me.
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And this one
Lol! You’re joking, right? Dude, that isn’t even AI…it’s just photoshopped. smh.
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Yeah I have zero love or care for the monarchy. It should be abolished in Canada stat. We do however need a symbol, that’s Canadian, that’s non-political, that has term limits, that Indigenous treaty holders can still honour their treaties with. Something that Indigenous communities hold in as high regard as the crown. The monarchy will be tough to displace on that aspect.
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To remove the monarchy from our system would require opening up the constitution, which is opening up a huuuuge opportunity for problems. The benefits aren’t worth the risk, especially in today’s political climate. We don’t need a Brexit level fuckup because the average person is easy to sway with fear mongering and racism.
They’re figureheads and effectively have zero power over Canada, why get rid of them?
Cause I don’t believe in a family having inherited billions that was pillaged through slavery and colonization.
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And this one
You guys just believe anything, huh?
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Cause I don’t believe in a family having inherited billions that was pillaged through slavery and colonization.
I agree, but it’s not worth the risk when they have zero power over Canada.
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The Mint does not produce notes, only coins.
Who prints the bills?
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Because we hate the Americans and use it to say we’re different. Same as always.
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Cause I don’t believe in a family having inherited billions that was pillaged through slavery and colonization.
Pillaged through slavery? I’m of who cares. I do not want to be a republic. And if we got rid of the monarchy we would replace it with a president with no power like the GG so who cares.
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What official role exactly, does he play in Canadian politics?
In explicitly politics? Not much. But as a royal dignitary, he’s entitled to a host of benefits reserved for the Monarch and their representatives.
While Canada might not pay money directly to the monarchy, the country’s ties to the House of Windsor could cost taxpayers more than $58.7 million annually.
The $58.7 million would not cover more recent costs to taxpayers, like then-Prince Charles’ three-day visit to Canada in May 2022, which totalled at least $1.4 million or more.
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In 2022, the Canadian government also spent nearly $400,000 on hotel rooms during the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II; a figure that included a luxurious $6,000-a-night river-view suite for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife.
Governor General Mary Simon, who is the monarch’s representative in Canada, racked up an over $80,000 catering bill with her entourage during a March 2022 trip to the Middle East that reportedly cost more than $1.3 million, according to the National Post. The newspaper also reported that Simon’s first official overseas trip to a German book fair in Oct. 2021 fair cost taxpayers over $700,000.
Other recent monarchy-related costs have still not been released, or are not yet available, like those associated with the RCMP giving a horse to King Charles as a gift in March, as well as costs tied to sending a Canadian delegation to the King’s upcoming May 6 coronation ceremony. In 2022, Canadian taxpayers also bankrolled Platinum Jubilee celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne, which included a $187,500 grant to the Monarchist League of Canada to distribute 70,000 educational booklets. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society has received $257,000 in similar educational funding to celebrate King Charles’ coronation.
As brother to King Charlies, whose personal incomes were estimated at around £20 million/year as of 2023, its safe to assume he’s influential purely based on his enormous personal fortune. How much of a role a second-son to a British Billionaire actually plays is always up for debate. Andrew’s a notorious fuck-up and moron, so you’d like to think he doesn’t play a significant role in UK-Canadian relations. But Canada’s got its own crop of idiots and assholes - several also tied up in the Epstein scandal. So who is to say what he’s been up to behind the scenes?
They don’t even list a cost they say could cost us this much. Not that it does.
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Pillaged through slavery? I’m of who cares. I do not want to be a republic. And if we got rid of the monarchy we would replace it with a president with no power like the GG so who cares.
The British kings and queens who supported and profited from slavery
From Elizabeth I to William IV, over a period of 270 years monarchs had links to the slave trade
the Guardian (www.theguardian.com)
King Charles III's Direct Ancestors Owned Slaves: Documents
Newly revealed documents underscore the British monarchy's ties to the slave trade, which go as far back as the 16th century.
TIME (time.com)
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Who prints the bills?
Canadian Bank Note. A private company.
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A lot of privileged Canadians are discomforted by the possibility of putting themselves at risk to do the right thing. Canada is an extractive enterprise, nothing more. People have meaningful lives within it, but this system is evil and this man’s ability to rape with impunity is directly connected to the existence of a monarchy in Canada’s constitution. It’s true that removing the monarchy from this system would be dangerous to people who benefit from colonialism, including every able-bodied, well-off, white, cishet Canadian citizen. To say that it would somehow introduce new dangers to the rest of us works to occlude that the current objective of the Canadian state is indeed eradication of other groups. As a liberal state, it certainly appropriates inclusivity and “progress” into its aesthetics. Make no mistake though, this is a tactic it uses to assimilate groups it does not want to exist.
If Canada cannot exist without colonialism, then it should not exist. Period. If you hate that idea, then you should think hard about what your morals are. Can you live with yourself if you truly care more about your own status over the wellbeing of everyone else in the world?
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That’s an uninformed question. Canada does not have a monarchy and it is no longer a “dominion”. There are historical traces and current practices, mostly based on respect and civility. Look back at any individual or group over time. There are always atrocities. We should fight the monster we can see, not the dead one that is being discussed.
