Hands Off the Queen by Craig Lloyd few weeks ago, several senior Liberal Cabinet Minister announced a plan to ring in the new Millennium. They were to replace the British Crown (the Queen, if you will) as the Canadian Head of State.       I think this idea ranks right up there with ideas that I had in my adolescence   I think this idea ranks right up there with ideas that I had in my adolescence. I would look at a piece of electronic equipment, and decide it needed "enhancing." I would take it to my fathers wood-working shop, and proceed to rip into the poor defenseless collection of plastic and silicon with my youthful vigor. After a considerable length of time, (about 127 seconds, most times) my skillful technique turned a once useful item I could play with into something that was not really recognizable, and didn't work.       What I learnt from this experience was IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.       I am not saying that our particular form of democracy is perfect. I agree with Winston Churchill when he said (or something resembling this) "Democracy is the worst form of government, with the exception of all the others."       We have problems with our elected officials being representative of what the people desire. For example, in recent elections, both the B.C. and Quebec Liberals have had the highest popular vote, but another party formed the government.       While our government is imperfect, it works. (well, most of the time, at least)       Proposing to change the Head of State at this time will open a can of worms that is both unpredictable and undesirable. Two times in recent history Canada attempted to alter the Constitution, and both times it failed.       Attempting a drastic change such as this will probably anger a lot of citizens. There are quite a few people out there who are quite fond of the Queen. In Victoria, B.C., there is an area of town where one swears that the people have not been informed that Canada is a separate country now. Going behind the Tweed curtain, we call it. In a particularly kevetching editorial in the Victoria Times-Colonist it was suggested that in such a situation, B.C. should consider leaving Canada. At this point in the development as a nation, this is not a desirable situation to face.       I suspect that these Cabinet Ministers just desire a way to leave their mark on Canadian society. Why don't they just plant some memorial trees and pepper so that when protestors of the future are assulted with baseball bats and pepper spray, they'll know who to thank. Craig Lloyd is an aspiring Victoria political pundit. He is a NS/SD, SWM who likes sunsets and walks by the beach. Interested? back to cancontent