DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER JOHN MANLEY: 'It is not necessary to continue with the monarchy ... we could have a uniquely Canadian institution after Queen Elizabeth'

John Manley, the Deputy Prime Minister, called for the abolition of the monarchy yesterday as the Queen arrived for a 12-day tour of Canada.

Queen Elizabeth had barely been on Canadian soil an hour when Mr. Manley -- who will greet her when she arrives on Parliament Hill next Saturday -- called for the monarchy to be replaced with a "uniquely Canadian institution."

Opposition critics and monarchists said Mr. Manley's attack was badly timed, rude, insulting and boorish.

The Queen arrived in Iqaluit, the capital of the Arctic territory of Nunavut, yesterday for the start of a Canadian tour as part of the 50th anniversary of her coronation.

At the same time as Jean Chrétien, the Prime Minister, was lavishing praise on the Queen, Mr. Manley, speaking in French in Montreal, said, "It is not necessary, I think, for Canada to continue with the monarchy.

"I have always said that, first, I think Queen Elizabeth is doing a good job ... [but] personally, I would prefer it if we could have a uniquely Canadian institution after Queen Elizabeth."

Mr. Manley, a long-standing opponent of the monarchy, is scheduled to greet the Queen and Prince Philip when they arrive at the Ottawa airport next Saturday and then -- along with his wife, Judith -- accompany the couple on the drive to Rideau Hall.

Over the following three days he will usher them to and from the Governor-General's residence and when they depart on Oct. 15, the Manleys will stand at the foot of the aircraft ramp to see them off.

"It's just inconceivable that he would say that," said John Aimers, the chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada. "To make comments like that on the day Her Majesty arrives in Canada to celebrate her jubilee is a slap in the face.

"It is ill-timed and rude. There has to be some degree of civility in this debate," he said. "I would think that even people who might be sympathetic to his opinions ... would be appalled."

Elsie Wayne, a Conservative MP, called on Mr. Manley to publicly apologize for "a terrible insult" to the Queen. "He's shocked me - to make that kind of statement on the day of her arrival in Canada. Why would you do that?"

"The Prime Minister should be telling Mr. Manley to apologize and then shut up."

Jim Abbott, of the Canadian Alliance, said the Queen will almost certainly learn what Mr. Manley said and that will reflect badly on Canada.

"There may be a time and place to discuss whether we should have a monarchy or not," he said. "But I can't imagine a more inappropriate time than the day of her arrival in Canada. "His behaviour is boorish."

Mr. Abbott said the Deputy Prime Minister, "deserves a verbal reprimand at the least" for his actions.

In contrast to Mr. Manley, Mr. Chrétien told the Queen in Iqaluit, "I was not alone in noting that the slight chill that is even now in the air has been lessened by the warmth of smiling faces that have already greeted you along the way."

Neither Mr. Chrétien nor Sheila Copps, the Heritage Minister, who was also on hand to greet the Queen, was available for comment.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Manley dismissed criticism of the Deputy Prime Minister by saying he was just speaking his mind.

"He was responding to a question from a reporter," said Jennifer Sloan. "It wasn't pro-active.

"When John Manley is asked a question he is going to answer it ... John Manley would not shift or fudge his views on any issue."

She said the timing of his comments was immaterial. "I don't find it odd at all."

Mr. Manley also suggested that Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, the Queen's representative in Canada, should become the actual head of state.

"It [a solution] could be as simple as the continuation of the Governor-General [in her current role], as the head of state of

Canada," he said.

In 1997, he said Canada should sever its formal links with the monarchy. He later backed down, reportedly after a rebuke from other members of the federal Cabinet and the Prime Minister.

In May, 2001, he said the monarchy was "really an institution that's a bit out of date for Canada to continue with."

Tom Freda, national director of the group Citizens for a Canadian Republic, said his organization went out of its way to issue a news release to welcome the Queen to Canada and remind its members and supporters "that she's a visiting head of state and should be granted

the respect due to all visiting dignitaries of her stature."

But Mr. Freda said he did not think Mr. Manley's comments were rude. "I don't think the Queen was in any way insulted.

"She's a guest in Canada and we have to show our respect ... [but] I don't think raising the subject is disrespectful.

"It isn't like we're saying, 'Off with her head.' "

The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, are making their 20th visit to Canada.

The Queen said yesterday she was delighted to start her tour in Nunavut, a territory that did not exist when she last visited Canada in 1997.

"Taking its rightful place in this Canadian story has been the birth of Nunavut in 1999 ... Prince Philip and I congratulate you for bringing your dream to reality," the Queen said in a speech to mark the dedication of the territorial legislature.

"I am proud to be the first member of the Canadian Royal Family to be greeted in Canada's newest territory."

Hundreds of people in the small town gathered outside the legislature despite freezing temperatures to greet the Queen. The couple was serenaded by a traditional choir and received bunches of flowers from Inuit children.