2001-05-20|Monarchy Violates Charter of Rights and Freedoms
To the editor
One of the most fundamental principles of democracy is that all citizens have an equal right to seek a public office without discrimination. Unlike the U.S.A. where the president must have been born in the U.S.A., a foreign-born person can become the prime minister of Canada, the latest example being the Rt. Hon. John Napier Turner (1984).
Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship states: "Canada's Head of State is a hereditary Sovereign (Queen or King), who reigns in accordance with the Constitution: the rule of law." The existence of such hereditary Sovereign as a Head of State in effect violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically Section 15 - Equality Rights, which states "Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination", unless the royal family are considered as "disadvantaged individuals or groups".
I respect the constitutional monarchy as a historical symbol, but the monarchy in Canada has been broken since 1985-04-17 when Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms went into force, so it must be abolished. As a start, I propose that the appointed "Governor General of Canada" be simply renamed "President of Canada" without any changes to its status or function whatsoever, much like the renaming of the "Dominion Day" to "Canada Day". Once people get used to the modern name, it would be easier to make further changes such as the method of its election.
The monarchy is part of who Canadians used to be. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of who Canadians are.
