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Toronto, May
21, 2010 - This Victoria Day, Citizens for a Canadian
Republic is asking the question: Why does Canada stand alone
among the major former British colonies as the only nation
that hasn't had a parliamentary debate on the monarchy?
"Head of state reform was an issue Canadian republicans were
hoping would be of interest to the present government," says
Tom Freda, CCR's national director, "especially after Prime
Minister Harper's 2005 description of an appointed senate as
"a relic of the 19th Century"." "So far," he adds, "we've
been disappointed in the lack of interest in further
democratic reforms."
Despite national opinion polls that consistently show a
majority of Canadians favouring discussion of the monarchy's
future, the organization points out that Canada seems
content to allow the rest of the Commonwealth to take the
lead in planning for the end of the Queen's reign.
In the last year, the Commonwealth has seen two major
debates about ending the monarchy: A 2009 republic
referendum in the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the
Grenadines and in April of this year, New Zealand's
parliament contemplated a republic referendum as proposed in
the Head of State Bill. Both initiatives did not succeed in
their goals but are widely seen as major first steps to
future progress.
Lewis Holden, Chair of the Republican Movement of Aotearoa
New Zealand, recently provided an analysis of the Head of
State Bill in the republican podcast Profile. The interview
can be downloaded from the podcast page of CCR's website.
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