Monthly Archives: March 2012

Abolishing the Crown of Canada: Political Difficulty versus Constitutional Significance

Posted on 2012/03/29 by J.W.J. Bowden

Christopher Moore, a Canadian author and historian, runs a blog called “History News,” which used to appear on my blogroll until I reciprocated Moore’s gesture of deletion. Yesterday, he wrote “Abolishing the Monarchy – What, Like It’s Hard?” in response … Continue reading →

Posted in Monarchism v Republicanism | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Lack of Punctuation Turned the “Progressive Conservative” Parties into Oxymorons

Posted on 2012/03/21 by J.W.J. Bowden

The Conservative Party of Canada has undergone several name changes throughout its history. From the 1860s to the early 20th century, the forbearer of the modern political party called itself the “Liberal-Conservative Party”. The hyphen denotes the merging of two … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Parties | 7 Comments

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Debate on the Crown: John Fraser vs. Michael Bliss

Posted on 2012/03/20 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction The Macdonald-Laurier Institute held a debate on the Crown on 14 March 2012 on the resolution that “The monarchy is a dangerous anachronism”. John Fraser opposed it, and Michael Bliss supported it. The erstwhile republican Jack Granastein presided over … Continue reading →

Posted in Conferences and Speeches, Monarchism v Republicanism | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Prime Minister Does Not “Represent All Canadians” – the House of Commons Does

Posted on 2012/03/11 by J.W.J. Bowden

Responsible Government and the Loyal Opposition Many of the subtle misinterpretations of the nature of responsible government derive from what some (and perhaps some of you, dear readers!) would consider “quibbling”, constitutional pedantry, or “debates over semantics.” I would argue, … Continue reading →

Posted in Loyal Opposition, Reaffirmation of, Responsible Government | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

The Civil Service, Not the “Public” Service

Posted on 2012/03/06 by J.W.J. Bowden

As part of my series on the true nature of responsible government and Crown prerogative, I will now turn my attention to another part of the government that derives its authority from the Crown: Her Majesty’s Civil Service. The civil … Continue reading →

Posted in Reaffirmation of, Responsible Government | Tagged | 3 Comments