Mr. Speaker, the monarchy is very costly, but not just financially.
I would like to go back to 2019, to the case of the two Michaels who were unjustly imprisoned in China.
Last Thursday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that, in that case, the Prime Minister was unable to negotiate with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Why? It is simple. The Chinese president refused to speak to the Prime Minister and instead demanded to speak to Canada's true head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.
Does the government not find it embarrassing that the real leader of Canada is actually a foreign monarch?