Posted by Ian McKechnie on October 16, 2009, 4:26 pm, in reply to "Re: Who Creates Letters-Patent?"
38.117.68.220
"And, no, the monarch wasn't forced to do anything, he chose to."
But he was advised to issue them. In 1977 Trudeau "advised" the Queen to give up her power of appointment when it came to ambassadors. Now the Queen's constitutional role is limited exclusively to appointing a Governor General; this in itself is (I think) overly informal, simple, and mechanical in nature.
I am not blaming Her Majesty, but the seemingly voluntary giving up of powers that has been commonplace over the past 70 or so years seems to have contributed to republicanism in Canada.
Adrienne Clarkson's memoirs suggest that HM seems to like the idea of the GG being the sole head of state (I question this assertion; Clarkson seems to think the Letters Patent are an infallible, unchangeable legal doctrine).
The Queen's constitutional role ought to have more substance. Maybe then the Canadian Crown will thrive as it once did.
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