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LETTER: Change to Constitution won’t be easy

Your dual national writer (May 18) seems not to believe that Canada is an independent country because our head of state (the King of Canada) is foreign-born and a non-resident. Well, he is largely wrong in that and has been since the Statute of Westminster of 1931. Many Latin American countries were born of revolution: not so Canada, as we deliberately chose a different path than the 13 colonies below us on the continent.
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Your dual national writer (May 18) seems not to believe that Canada is an independent country because our head of state (the King of Canada) is foreign-born and a non-resident. Well, he is largely wrong in that and has been since the Statute of Westminster of 1931. Many Latin American countries were born of revolution: not so Canada, as we deliberately chose a different path than the 13 colonies below us on the continent.

Of course, our current constitutional situation regarding our head of state is an anomaly and will no doubt be corrected in due course. But instead of just complaining, writers should offer practical suggestions as to what type of republic Canada might become, and how we go about it. The Constitution Act of 1982 does not make change easy. And our politicians seem to have no stomach at the present to tackle the issue.

David Collins

Oak Bay