Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Feds downplay cost of Queen's anniversary celebration

OTTAWA - The federal government is brushing off criticism of its plan to spend $7.5 million to celebrate the Queen's 60th anniversary on the throne.

There has been some grumbling from anti-monarchists, notably in Quebec, that the Diamond Jubilee would cost so much money at a time of deep budget cuts.

But Heritage Minister James Moore had an answer for those critics Tuesday.

He said the federal government had spent way more on other celebrations, and referred specifically to the 400th anniversary of Quebec City in 2008.

''These sums have always existed within the department for these kinds of events. Look, $100 million was spent on Quebec City's 400th anniversary,'' Moore told The Canadian Press.

Documents recently obtained by The Canadian Press, however, indicated that even Moore had concerns with the cost of the ceremony.

Documents obtained under the Access to Information Act said the minister's office instructed bureaucrats to pare down the cost from an original target of $8.8 million. That $1.3 million difference represents a cost reduction of just under 15 per cent.

The celebrations have been criticized by anti-monarchists outside Quebec, and six MPs from Quebec have refused to accept the Jubilee medals they've been invited to hand out.

Opponents of the celebration note that Australia, which is also a Commonwealth member, isn't spending any money to celebrate the anniversary.

But Moore said this year's criticism is hardly surprising. A decade ago, for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, Moore recalled there were dozens more MPs, led by the once-thriving Bloc Quebecois, who refused to participate.

''The debate on the monarchy is nothing new and it's not going to end this week,'' he said.

Original Article
Source: winnipeg free press 
Author: The Canadian Press 

No comments:

Post a Comment