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Next time, leave out your creepy disassembling of peoples discussions and cutting and pasting certain words and transactions. Wow.....

   

   

People are saying that since it doesn't do anything, that means its working...so we should keep it...what?

Tell me, outside of history, is there a reason why we should have a non democratic head of state that does not actually live in Canada, who does nothing for Canada (oh except own Canadian land, which she never uses) and appoint somebody who is just as non democratic who gets to spend millions of dollars in "symbolic" ceremonies while those who have no British ties have to swear allegiance and protect and serve this queen who does not represent a growing population of Canadians who want to protect and serve Canada; not an rotting relic old times.

Oh and people wonder why we have no identity. She and our British leftovers are a nice part of it

   

What better alternative would you have? Not an elected figurehead please, that would be a waste of a ballot. A president would cost as much as or more than the GG, so no argument there.

And what is "Canada" and how does one serve and protect it? Is it the people? Is it the physical land? Is it the concept? I prefer not to swear an oath to undefinable entities.

   

Mr. Bi-national blah blah blah... who the fuck are you? And you call WBEnson a creep?! What, have you been reading my other posts for the last two weeks while you've been biding your time to respond?

What does my dual nationality have to do with anything? Or are you just trying to be a dick, trying to discredit me for being half-American as though that were something to be ashamed of? Or as though it would have anything to do with my ability to read a few books about Canadian history. In any case it would be a few more books than you ever bothered to read. Sleeping through history class in high school makes you even less qualified to discuss issues of history than Wiki does.

I don't think myself an expert on anything, let alone a 'Canadian expert', whatever the hell that is supposed to be. I'm just a Canadian who thinks he is well informed and educated enough to put his two cents in on the issues. Just like you fancy yourself to be, probably.



I'm sorry... what is the association responsible for 'certifying' authors and scholars as Canadian? Or did you just make that up?

And because you clearly need after-school help with your English as well as your history, why don't I post a couple dictionary entries for you... spice up your your vocabulary with a bit of colour.

The first one is from the American Heritage Dictionary, the second from Wiktionary.

bril·liant (brĭl'yənt) adj.

1. Full of light; shining.
2. Relating to or being a hue that has a combination of high lightness and strong saturation.
3. Sharp and clear in tone.
4. Glorious; magnificent: the brilliant court life at Versailles.
5. Superb; wonderful: The soloist gave a brilliant performance.
6. Marked by unusual and impressive intellectual acuteness: a brilliant mind; a brilliant solution to the problem. See Synonyms at intelligent.

tosspot (plural tosspots)

1. (pejorative) A drunkard, one who drinks alcohol frequently; from the act of 'tossing back' a flagon.
2. (UK, pejorative) A fool, prat, idiot etc.

"'he's a complete and utter tosspot"

3. (pejorative) A tosser, wanker.

   

I wasn't aware that we had no identity.

I don't believe we are lacking an identity, but I think a lot fewer people would be struggling to find the Canadian identity of they were more comfortable with our history and heritage.

Canada is a place full of culture and identity. And speaking personally, the Monarchy is part of my national identity even if it doesn't play a role in my everyday life. It's not supposed to. Even in the UK, the Monarchy isn't an everyday life sort of thing. It's just a part of how the country has chosen to govern itself, and an ancient institution.

The Westminster style of government, the Monarchy, the Union Jack in the flags of Ontario, Manitoba and BC, the English flag (the Cross of St. George) in the flag of Alberta, St. Andrew's Cross along with the Royal Arms of Scotland in the flag of Nova Scotia, the namesake of PEI etc... these aren't weird natural phenomena that just got there like by magic. They are symbols of Canada's history and national identity that people used to be proud of.

Just because Canada is a modern country doesn't oblige us to dump all of the traditions that defined us for so long before we hit the big bucks. People aren't trying to find a Canadian identity, they're trying to get away from the identity we already have, looking for something new to replace it with. I'm not interested in that.

   

50 000 was the largest wave?

How do you explain Saskatchewan's growth from 1905-1910?

   

Well I can't say that I know much about Saskatchewan immigration from 1905-1910. That's a pretty specific reference. But I know that it was about that time that it became a province, and that the government was offering free land to new settlers.

Now, where those settlers came from I do not know for sure, but I am pretty sure that many of them came from other regions of Canada.

The original wave of Loyalists (here we're talking American Revolution, not the War of 1812) came en masse and settled in what is now ON, QC, NB and NS (but back then NS and NB were just one big NS). That is a pretty big wave. Even today, we only accept about 44,000 immigrants annually.

The population of Canada at this time was just over 100,000, so in a few years Canada saw a population growth of 50%. If we saw one like that today, it would be like 15 million people showing up within a few years.

   

Well that would be like, er, a 140 years later man. History is not a strong point of yours eh?

   

Ok here's what we have.

American Revolution - 50 000 Loyalists come to Canada. The US is modeled on British constituional monarchy with Congress and an elected President

1837 - Revolt over oligarchy in Lower, Canada, Revolution in upper Canada.

1841 Durham Reoprt represents reasonalbe government

1867 Confederation - dominion reduces depandance on
Britain

1880-1920 West is settled Canada changes from a Anglo/Franco polutaion to a diversly European population. Western Europeans, Easter Europeans, Americans, Scandinavians, Jews, Dukabors, Middle Easterners redically change the ethnic makeup of Canada

1932 - Charter of Westminister gives Canada control over foreign affairs

1961 - Most Candians no longer assicoaite themselves with the crown

1965 - new flag

1982 - Charter and soverignty


It seems to me that Canada has progressed towards indepencdace and in doing so away from monarchy, this is the last step in our national growth.

   

I'm not sure. This or stopping Quebec separatism will be the last step.

   

What's wrong with an elected figurehead? Its democratic? OH GOD THE HORROR. If we're going to have a figurehead that wastes money and does nothing, at least make it a representative of Canada, not Canada's representative to the Queen.

And who is this Queen? An old hag who lives an ocean away, sitting on her ass doing nothing while her grandsons dress up as Nazis and such? Oh yeah, I really want to swear loyalty to her. Why would I swear an oath to a Queen that has nothing to do with Canada other than some historical link and acres of wasted land across the country for her "residences"?

Canada is a nation state which has a liberal democracy and a population of around 32 million people. It is also the place of my birth and will be the place I will be buried. If this nation requires my services, I will gladly answer the call, but I'm not answering the call to a foreign leader that has no connection to me except a historical link. I wouldn't answer the call of Jihad from a Saudi King, why would I answer a call of anything from the Queen of England?

   

??? The US is not modelled on constitutional monarchy, not one iota. They do not use a Westminster system.



You can't just say something like that without backing it up. So we're supposed to believe this just because you put it in a timeline?

How many Americans do you think personally identify with the President?

   

I'm not going to pick on words that mean the same thing. However, having no identity and lacking an identity is the same basic idea.

I'm comfortable with Canada's history and its heritage, but that does not mean it should be in any way connected to our present, but its time to create a Canadian identity, not continuing our colonial history of having a non-Canadian head of state. The Queen is history, not our identity. More people see Canada represented by Hockey, Molson Canadian, beavers, and having the CN tower than people seeing the Queen or the GG as the "representative of Canada".

I'm not asking to change provincial flags just like I wouldn't ask some southern states to change their flags, even though they have the Confederate flag on them. Why? Because its a part of our history, but as being history, we are not British colonies, just like Mississippi isn't a Confederate state anymore. Having a Governor General as an unelected representative of an unelected leader of Canada is nothing more than undemocratic, just like our unelected Senate. Using your same argument, the Senate should still be undemocratic just because its "our heritage".

I'm not asking to dump our traditions, but traditions shouldn't be politics. I'm not arguing to pull out of the commonwealth. I'm not saying to delete the record that we were a British colony, and we have British roots. That's far from my argument, my argument is that we should be Canadians, not British. Canadians should be represented by a Canadian, elected by a Canadian, to serve Canada. You say we have an identity, but our identity is copying our history books and saying, "this is it, deal." That's not an identity, that's still a history. An identity is what we are TODAY, we are a free and independent nation, not governed by a colonial master, or by a Queen who has no reason for her position except by "birthright". How is this Canadian? Being a Canadian is saying "God save the British Queen"?

   

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