Posted by John Gross
on September 6, 2009, 7:50 pm, in reply to "Re: QotW: What, if any, do you consider the greatest threat to the Canadian Monarchy ?"
142.151.141.150
Our constitutional monarchy is supposed to transcend race and ethnicity, and our institution of the Crown is very Canadian indeed. Our Queen of Canada is certainly not the Queen of the United Kingdom! I would say that our current and recent GGs have done a good job at embracing other cultures (cue the "symbolic duties" heading under the "Monarchy" section in any textbook).
Canada's constitution acknowledges our system of government and intends for it to be interpreted "in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians". That's part of the Charter, which was enacted at the same time that the Crown was further entrenched in our founding documents. Furthermore, our country was founded upon the junction of very different peoples, and we still honour our aboriginal, French, and English traditions.
I personally reject the idea that multiculturalism will doom us all and that Canadian culture is on the way out (hopefully it will prove that we are more than just a bunch of non-complaining maple-leaf-toting hockey players living in igloos). Sadly, criticism of multiculturalism is often a vehicle for xenophobia and some of the more troubling problems that are present in some parts of this great country.
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