Mr. Speaker, today the new $20 bill is going into circulation. The $20 is the most commonly used bill. The Queen's image appears on the new bill not just once, but three times.
To make room for that, whoever designed the new bill got rid of a quote from author Gabrielle Roy and an image of a sculpture by Bill Reid that stands in front of the Canadian embassy in Washington. The sculpture depicts the pride and traditions of the Haida people. I have no problem with the image of the Vimy Memorial being added to a banknote, but why get rid of these important cultural references just to add more images of the Queen?
Is there no limit to this government's obsession with the British monarchy? After all the wild spending on the jubilee, the War of 1812, portraits of the Queen, the “royal” designation for the armed forces and the sharing of diplomatic services, what is next—the return of the Union Jack and “God Save the Queen”?
Gabrielle Roy wrote, “Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?” That is a good question for this Conservative government.