Canadian Constitution 101

I think a lot of people have no clue how this country works -- or doesn't these days.  And I'm including not only foreigners, but also most Canadians.  We are a Constitutional Monarchy in the Westminster model -- just as is Britain.  This means that King Charles is our Head of State and as such, King of Canada.  All executive power is formally vested in the King through the constitution, but the authority flows from the Canadian people.  Our King:  

Although he holds no real power, he embodies how our government works.  Canada is not a republic, in spite of the many factions wishing it were.  We can't just say, "Dear King, you're fired."  To get rid of the King as Head of State would necessitate endless, fraught negotiations with the provinces and Indigenous peoples.  It would also mean abolishing the governor general and all the lieutenants governors, so frankly, it'll never happen.

Justin Trudeau's strategy is to pretend we don't have the King as Head of State and to play down the reality that we are a Constitutional Monarchy.  He has even gone so far as to disgracefully remove all formal portraits of the Monarch from federal public buildings and institutions.  The fact that history and civics are no longer taught in Canadian schools makes pretending we don't have a king an easy dodge for him.  Trudeau has set himself up as the de-facto King of Canada, with courtiers and sycophants ensconced in his ever-expanding office now bulging with over-paid friends and consultants.  Not our King:

King Charles III is to be crowned (not "coronated" as many write) in May and many of us are wondering how Canada plans to mark this momentous occasion here at home?  So far, nothing has been announced and I bet all that will happen is that Trudeau, the GG and a retinue of hangers-on will attend the ceremony.  Let's hope he doesn't get drunk in the lobby bar of his $6,000/night hotel suite and disgrace us all over again.  BTW, he will not admit he stayed in the suite and a freedom of information challenge has been issued by 'The Globe and Mail' to prove it.  Oh, and did I mention every other head of state stayed in his/her embassy, including the president of the US?  

Many Americans think because 'Rolling Stone' magazine featured Trudeau in jeans on its cover a few years ago that we have a cool prime minister.  We don't.  Canada differs from the US in that we aren't restricted to two parties.  We have two main and five in all and most Canadians frequently change allegiance, depending on the issues and level of elections, i.e., federal, provincial or municipal.  Within families there is also no uniform alliance for one party or another.  Parents may vote one way, children and relatives another.  We also have appointed senators, judges and police chiefs, making things less complicated at many levels.

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Speaking of how Canada works, why did mediocre pop singer Jully Black think it was OK to arbitrarily change the words to our national anthem when she sang it a the NBA All-Star basketball game?  Instead of, "Oh Canada, our home and native land....." Black inserted, "Oh Canada, our home on native land..."  That's what she had the nerve to do.  Public opinion, for and against, predictably aligned along race (Jully is Black) -- not along right or wrong, as usual it was race.  Jully needs to stay in her own pedestrian singing lane and work on getting ahead -- not get all political and preachy.

Bad move.