Media Release  (English)

Restoring "royal" to military is regressive and costly

Toronto, August 16, 2011 - In response to the restoration of the pre-1968 titles of Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force, Canada's republican movement says the backward move, designed to appeal to conservative traditionalists, could backfire.

The government may be vastly overestimating the size of the demographic this kind of action appeals to," said CCR spokesperson, Tom Freda.

"This isn't the 1950s, nor do we have 1950s values, he adds. "Canada has been accustomed to moving away from colonialist symbols, not toward them. I can't imagine the mainstream public in 2011 seeing this decision as positive."

The group also believes there will be a considerable financial cost for the changeover. Access to Information documents have revealed consistent under-reporting of the true cost to taxpayers of royal visits, so that policy is expected to continue this time as well.

Regarding the potential constitutional implications, Freda said, "Australia's military still has the royal designation and they're further ahead in the republican debate than Canada. So, in the larger scope of things, it has no relevance to our inevitable evolution to a one hundred percent Canadianized head of state."

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