This month the world �celebrated� Valentine�s Day:  where thoughts of overpriced chocolates, flowers and romantic dinners danced in our heads. You want to hear a tale of true love? Well here�s one directly from the Jester�s little part of the world. On Valentine�s Day the Queen, and an abashed American businessman, found out just how much she is loved here. 

Now some of your may have figured out from past columns that the Jester lives in Canada, specifically in the Pacific Northwest, one a large island. Between that island and the mainland are a multitude of smaller islands. In order to get to and from these islands and the mainland of both B.C and the U.S., there is a large fleet of ferries of varying sizes and ages. Up until about five years ago this fleet was owned and operated by the government, and bore portraits of the Queen in their main passenger areas. This publicly owned corporation was then bought by an American businessman, who began the process of updating the fleet. As the old ships aged out of code standards, went in for overhauls, or as new ships were brought in to replace those no longer seaworthy, the portraits of the Queen were removed and not replaced. Nobody actually noticed until an intrepid reporter, touring the newest state-of-the-art ferry (docked for public inspection before going into service), alerted the Chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada�s Vancouver branch on the lack thereof. 

When the Ferry Corporation was questioned on this, their official reply was that as they were no longer a government corporation, and by extension not owned by the people of B.C. (Canadians) anymore, they didn�t feel portraits of our Head of State were required.  

Wrong answer! 

The media countrywide (and internationally) picked up the story. Polls in newspapers and on radio call-in shows were overwhelmed throughout the day. Results: more than double those who agreed with the removals were furious they had been. As long as Canadians rode on and paid for these ships, and they sailed in Canadian waters, Canada�s Queen belonged on them. Period. 

By four o�clock that afternoon the Corporation folded; a sheepish PR representative came out and announced that the policy had been reversed. Customer anger had won out. They would not allow their Queen to be insulted like this. Not only would the new ferry sport a fresh portrait, but new portraits would be installed throughout the fleet, now and in future. They�re free after all. The country breathed a sigh of relief and went back to thoughts of romance. Ah, but was that the end of the matter? Nope. 

Naturally it gave the republican fringe and anti-monarchists a chance to vent once again. The usual indignant squawks that Canada needed to �throw off the yoke of British colonialism�, and �what have the royal family done for us lately?� were noted. Of course these types of letters made it into the local newspaper�s Letters to the Editor pages for a couple of days thereafter, and then disappeared again.   

This tempest in a teapot did serve to bring out the fact, yet again, that although 60% of the Canadian people really do not understand how their system of government works, and why it works, they know they don�t want it to change.  A bonus though was to discover that local school children, and a few knowledgeable teachers, did know about and value the monarch�s role. Which is what, precisely? 

To those who cry that royalty is an anachronism, and monarchs of some other country have no place in our 2008 lives, I say keep reading. If you still feel the same way that is your choice.  For the benefit of those in the media, who sadly number in the majority, who don�t get it either I will now attempt to answer a few of their questions, and inform everyone else as well. 

I don�t know what journalism school they went to, but mine instilled the edict that when researching and writing a story all sides of the issue needed to be explored. As controversy sells these days, very often only one convoluted side of an issue makes it into the story. As a result misconceptions and wrong information gets into the public domain. In an effort to present the straight goods the Jester will now attempt to answer, in plain language, some of the media questions brought up during the portrait tilt. For those of you who also live in constitutional monarchies, and for those who live in republics and want to know how their neighbours function, I invite you to read on.  For help on this I have taken some of the following information and quotations from a booklet called �The Canadian Monarchy-Exploring the Role of Canada�s Crown in the day-to-day life of our country�, published by the Monarchist League of Canada (www.monarchist.ca). 

1. Why does Canada (Australia, New Zealand, etc.) need a separate Head of State to make their governments run smoothly?

The Canadian Monarchy, as distinct from the British Monarchy, came into existence in 1982, when the Canadian voters reaffirmed their desire to remain a constitutional monarchy. Back in 1867 the Fathers of Confederation adopted the constitutional monarchy system as the political framework for their new country. In the British North America Act (since renamed the Constitution Act, 1867), it states Canada has ��a constitution similar in principal to that of the United Kingdom...� and ��the Executive Government and authority of and over Canada is hereby declared to continue and be vested in The Queen.� (At that time it was Queen Victoria). 

In 1953, the then Prime Minister St. Laurent�s parliament adopted the Queen�s Canadian title, and her position as Head of State: Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom, Canada and her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.  From 1776, when the United States chose to sever its ties with the British monarchy, form its own political system and attempt to take over the entire continent over the ensuing century, the citizens north of the border declared their independence from the U.S. by adopting their own version of constitutional monarchy.  
 

2. Couldn�t the Prime Minister and provincial premiers do what the Governor General and Lieutenants Governor do just as easily?

Canada and other Commonwealth monarchies have two governmental authorities, distinct from one another: the Crown /Head of State (Monarch) and Head of Government (Prime Minister). Okay, now here�s where things might get murky for some. The supreme power is held by the Head of State (Queen), who lends that power to the party forming the government (currently a minority Conservative government, whose head is the Prime Minister). The Head of State or Crown gives power to the Head of Government to act in its name. Therefore the Head of State prevents those merely elected to office from grabbing and keeping that supreme power-politicians therefore only have the power for as long as their term in office lasts. 

Because the Queen cannot live in Canada and fulfill all the functions, she is represented in Canada by the Governor General, and in each of the ten Provinces and three Territories, by a Lieutenant Governor. Each is appointed by the Prime Minister�s Office and the Premiers for a five-year term. The LG is a separate representative, and the Governor General is not their boss-the Queen is.  Neither the Queen nor her representatives get involved in everyday politics, so Canadians do not have to declare any party affiliation in order to participate in politics and support their country. They are on separate levels and therefore politicians have a layer of authority over them. Constitutionally they cannot do each other�s jobs. 

3.  Why do we pledge allegiance to a �foreign monarch�, some other country�s queen?

The Queen of Canada is an actual person, and a Canadian citizen, to whom members of Parliament, the Legislatures, public servants, judges, the military and police agencies swear their allegiance (although some are trying to phase this out), as opposed to an abstract political ideology. Doing so is a unifying gesture, pledging to support your country and not a political system. 
 

4. Why is so much money spent on the Queen and her representatives to have them run around the country?

What does the Governor General do anyway? Officially as the Queen�s representative the GG does in Canada what the Queen does in the UK and around the world. Apart from representing the Crown in Canada and around the world, promoting Canadian sovereignty, encouraging national unity and identity and providing moral leadership, the duties include: opening and closing Parliament, reading the Speech from the Throne, giving Royal Assent to all Parliamentary bills to make them law, meeting regularly with the Prime Minister to discuss State matters, serving as Commander in Chief of the military (which sadly includes attending every repatriation ceremony for military personnel killed in the line of duty in foreign wars), bestowing awards on deserving Canadians, entertaining visiting Heads of State when they come to Canada, and traveling throughout the country to represent the Crown.  
 

While the country is run federally, each province and territory has its own parliament. The federal government is elected by the entire populace, while each province and territory elects its own government, passes its own provincial laws and heads its own public service.  To perform the Crown�s duties in each of these a LG acts like the Queen would. The LG appoints the Premier, swears in cabinet ministers, reads the Speech from the Throne, opens the Legislature, gives Royal Assent to new laws and has the same emergency powers in the province or territory as the GG has in the country.  The LG also presents honours and entertains visiting heads of state, while the amount of travel and degree of public involvement is up to the individual.   
 

5. Why are we paying for the large, beautiful houses they live in, when these could be used for libraries, art galleries, or where the public could have better access?

As the Queen lives in Buckingham Palace and her other properties, and as the Heads of State of other countries (White House in US, palaces and castles in others)  the GG lives at Rideau Hall in the nation�s capital of Ottawa. It is a symbol of our sovereignty. Some provinces do not have a Government House, simply using a hotel suite or a private home as diplomatic or large public occasions warrant. The BC version is open to the public for tours each afternoon, free of charge. Each summer musical concerts are held on its lawns, and its lavish gardens are open from morning to dusk. Symbols, and their upkeep, may not be exactly cheap, but people need them to feel a part of something larger. Human nature requires the knowledge that somebody somewhere is actually in charge, and that somebody needs a place to live and be seen.  For each Canadian citizen (33 million plus) it costs a fraction per year of what some people spend on designer coffees per day. 
 

6. What is the value of the back-slapping, the walk-abouts, the ribbon cutting and plaque unveiling anyway?

Whenever there is a natural disaster somewhere in the world, and the nation�s leader does not immediately show up, victims scream that the government just doesn�t care about their plight. In their time of need the comfort supplied by the guy in charge by just showing up, in theory, tells them that somebody in authority is going to take care of them.  When the Queen, a member of her family, the GG or the LG takes enough interest in an organization to recognize its accomplishments (with a tree planting, a plague unveiling, a tea party, a daycare tour, or some business-oriented event), the people who worked hard on organizing this, and inviting the respective royal or vice-regal to attend, are not only personally thrilled, but it shows potential funders and others that their efforts are indeed worthy. After a disaster the politicians who show up are there to promise money. The regal that shows up is there to provide sympathy, comfort and support. These may be intangibles but every bit as vital. They do so minus the political points-making, because they want to be there, not because they think they�ll look better come re-election time. Every year members of the royal family travel around the world many times over, performing innumerable duties like this that are not publicized. Lack of coverage by the media ensures that the vast majority of Canadians, and the media itself, remains unaware of just how hard the royal family really does work for them. 
 

Every institution requires revamping and changing from time to time to remain relevant in people�s lives. Monarchies who have survived into the 21^st century have done so because they have worked hard at it. Judging from the results of the portrait business, when the majority of Canadians was reminded they have a Queen, they remembered just how important and dear she, and the monarchy as the governing institution, is to them.  It is a source of pride to them how the Queen herself is treated. Portraits of their Queen have pride of place on all HMCS (naval) ships, in all messes and wardrooms. Put them back in schools, in public buildings, in all edifices that represent Canada abroad, and Canadians all across the country will once again be reminded they have a sovereign, and a system of government, to be proud of and not take for granted. 

Hopefully, this very brief overview may serve to remind Canadians, Australians and other Commonwealth nations that having a monarchical style of government makes them distinct, should give them an extra source of pride in their institutions, and doesn�t cost them much either. And the Queen loves them too. 

And I love you, so anon until next month.