In 1867, Canada was officially recognized as a country; in 1965, we finally got our own flag; in 2017, we celebrated 150 years of so-called independence, and here we are in 2018 still having to obtain royal assent (from the Governor General acting in the name of the Queen) for bills passed in our own Parliament (the latest being the marijuana bill).
When are we finally going to get rid of the apron strings holding us to the Queen? We are the oldest of all countries that are still tied to the so-called British Commonwealth, and still we spend millions of taxpayer dollars to have a lieutenant-governor in each province and a governor general in Ottawa, providing them all with beautiful housing, servants, a huge wage and still have to rely on them signing our provincial and federal laws.
The money could be better put to use on child poverty and other important issues.
To top this all off, whenever the Royal Family decides to come to Canada, we the taxpayers have to foot the bill again.
I believe it’s way overdue to change our way of thinking and break the bonds that have held us since the 1600s or more, and stop being called one of the colonies. (I’ve heard royalists who are Canadians use that term.)
I was born in this beautiful, wealthy country and spent 31 years in the Canadian Navy. Why are we still calling it the Royal Canadian Navy?
Alex Badiuk
Saanich
