Democracy gone Astray: Jubilee

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.]

Showing posts with label Jubilee. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

There must be a better way to honour Canadians

The purpose of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal is commendable: to honour Canadians for their service to Canada. To recognize those who make a contribution to the country.

The medal should be a celebration of citizenship. In a country slow to praise and reluctant to thank, it should say: “We appreciate you.”

It isn’t the Nobel Prize. The medal itself isn’t precious or rare; it’s made of “nickel-silver” and 60,000 will be struck this year.

Flawed Jubilee

The Diamond Jubilee Medal is turning out to be an odd way to honour the Queen: a secretive, ad hoc and politicized national embarrassment. Maurice Vellacott’s nomination of anti-abortion activists Mary Wagner and Linda Gibbons has drawn a lot of criticism. But within the parameters of the program, Vellacott’s choice is defensible. As an MP, Vellacott had the opportunity to nominate a number of people and he thinks the two women have done something noble for their country, even though Wagner is currently in jail.

The problem isn’t that Vellacott thinks these women are heroes or that the medals have gone to people who’ve been charged with crimes. Many activists have sacrificed their freedom in acts of civil disobedience, and many former criminals have gone on to greatness.

It was certainly an act of conscience when an opponent of abortion, Mary Wagner, tried to force her way into a Toronto clinic’s inner rooms, got into a physical struggle with a woman as she attempted to do so, and refused to leave when asked to do so by a police officer.

But it was also a crime – mischief – and a violation of her terms of probation that she not be within 200 metres of this particular clinic. And she had a criminal record for committing similar acts of mischief – twice in Vancouver in 2000 and 2001, and twice in Toronto in 2010 and 2011.

MP defends giving Queen's Jubilee medal to jailed woman

Two convicted criminals, one of them still serving time, have been awarded Queen's Diamond Jubilee medals by a Conservative MP.

Linda Gibbons, a grandmother who has spent 10 years on and off in prison for violating injunctions in front of abortion clinics, and Mary Wagner, who is in jail in Toronto charged with mischief and breaching court orders at abortion clinics, have both received the special medals that commemorate the Queen's 60 years on the throne.

Most MPs keeping Jubilee nominee lists secret

Amid news that Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott had allotted two of his Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medals to anti-abortion activists with lengthy legal histories — including one who is currently in jail — I asked all the other MPs for their lists of nominees.

In an unusual step, when the Conservative government created the medal in 2011, it designated more than 200 non-governmental “partner organizations” as nominators. Canadian senators and Members of Parliament like Vellacott were also given 30 medals to award to anyone they see fit. They are supposed to submit their nomination lists to the Governor General’s Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall for vetting, then are sent the medals to hand out themselves.

OTTAWA — An anti-abortion activist who is currently in jail in Toronto has received one of the Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee medals intended to mark “significant achievements” by Canadians.

Mary Wagner, 38, who has been repeatedly charged with mischief and violating court orders at abortion clinics, was nominated for the medal by Saskatchewan Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott.

Another Jubilee medal went to Linda Gibbons, a Toronto grandmother who has been charged numerous times for breaching the court-ordered “bubble zones” around clinics. Vellacott likened the two women to U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

Fit for a Queen: Government digs into coffers for Elizabeth's jubilee

The Canadian government has unveiled a $7.5-million plan to celebrate next year's 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's time on the throne, a moment hailed Tuesday by Heritage Minister James Moore as a "rare" chance to honour the 85-year-old monarch's "dedicated service to our country," and to give her subjects in Canada a refresher course on "the important role of the Canadian Crown."

As part of the anniversary preparations, Moore and Gov. Gen. David Johnston visited the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa to observe the striking of the first of 60,000 Diamond Jubilee medals, which will be awarded to civic-minded Canadians throughout 2012.

The death of King George VI from cancer on Feb. 6, 1952, instantly transformed a then-25-year-old Princess Elizabeth into the Queen of Canada, though her formal coronation took place more than a year later, in June 1953.

Major celebrations are also planned in Britain, including a public exhibition of famous artwork, jewels and other historic artifacts from the Royal Collection, and a planned armada of hundreds of decorated ships and boats on the Thames River.

Democracy gone Astray