Queen Elizabeth is buried, and now Charles III’s first headache begins. Canada wants to leave the Commonwealth. The ruler of the United Kingdom is also the head of state of the former British colony of the North American country. “Queen Elizabeth II was well-liked by generations of Canadians, but her death and the rise of her son Charles have revived a long-running debate, and support for the monarchy is steadily waning,” writes The Guardian newspaper. During Canada’s 155-year history as a nation, a king or queen has served as head of state. Elizabeth liked it so much that during her seventy-year reign, she visited him 22 times. “Thank you again for your welcome,” he told an ecstatic crowd in Halifax in 2010. “It’s so nice to be home.” That was the last North American tour. “Most Canadians think the royal family is no longer relevant,” points out The Guardian.
The agency he represented has been the support of Canadians, many of whom would like to see it scrapped. For some, it’s stuffy and outdated. For others, it carries the burden of history and responsibility for centuries of suffering and dispossession of indigenous peoples. likely to grow,” says Carleton University political science professor Jonathan Malloy.” People don’t realize that the Crown is the foundation of everything: our legal and constitutional system, our parliamentary system,” Malloy points out. “It’s not that easy to get rid of. But a movement to make Canada a parliamentary republic is growing.
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According to the 1982 Constitution, severing ties with the monarchy requires the approval of the Commons and the Senate, as well as the unanimous approval of all ten provinces. In the 1980s and 1990s, two attempts to change the constitution to separate Canada from the Commonwealth failed. Republicans haven’t given up. Elizabeth II’s death comes amid broader conflicts over Canada’s past, its relationship with the Crown and the legacy of colonial violence suffered by largely indigenous peoples. Britain’s role in the country’s history has been called into question after anonymous graves were discovered a year ago on the sites of former residential schools where American Indians were taught to “be English”. The tragic discovery sparked a furious reaction: statues of Elizabeth and Queen Victoria were toppled by angry mobs and a heated debate about the shadows of the colonial past was born. Niacon Sinclair, a professor of Aboriginal studies at the University of Manitoba, finds the matter ironic: “Many Aboriginal people see the Queen of England as a matriarch, a strong woman who looked after and led the community, but at the same time did nothing to protect Aboriginal people.” Today aboriginals are joined by millions of immigrants from around the world who no longer perceive the “British matrix” as a founding part of Canada.
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