Media release

Canada's head of state: We can do better 

Toronto, Feb 3, 2005 –  On February 6, monarchists will be marking the 53rd anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s Accession to the Throne. Representing Canada’s republican movement, Citizens for a Canadian Republic is taking this opportunity to raise the fundamental issue of the true allegiances of our unelected head of state, as stated in the inappropriate oath she took when officially crowned in 1953. 

Specifically, the following excerpts are noteworthy: 

Archbishop (the Archbishop of Canterbury): Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?  

Queen:  I will.  

Archbishop: Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel?  

Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?  

Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England?  

And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?  

Queen:  All this I promise to do.  

Ashok Charles, a senior member of Citizens for a Canadian Republic’s executive, expresses why this oath is completely unsuitable for a twenty-first century Canadian head of state:  

“The Queen’s commitment to Canada is questionable. For instance, the only "rights and privileges" she promised to defend were those of the "Bishops and Clergy of England" and the pledge to maintain the Protestant religion and maintain and preserve the settlement of the Church of England, is alarming for its lack of equitability. Furthermore, rather than to SERVE the citizenry she promises to govern, she merely offers to show "mercy.” 

Charles adds, “In comparison, other heads of state, including those of the republics of the United States, Ireland and India, pledge to defend their respective constitutions or the rights and welfare of their citizens.” 

Just as those nations have outgrown the undemocratic principles of monarchy and emphasized the separation of church and state, Charles says, " We can do better." 

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