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Although the federal government has decided not to offer medals to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s platinum anniversary, some provinces will provide their own honors to recognize both her 70 years of service and the contributions of her residents.
“This, of course, is no accident,” said Michael Jackson, president of the Crown Research Institute in Canada. “Some provinces have united … after realizing that the federal government will not make a platinum anniversary medal.”
This federal decision was a disappointment to Jackson, who sees such medals as part of a well-established tradition of Canadian honors and as a way to recognize the achievements of ordinary Canadians.
“They recognize citizens, ordinary people … not just the big ones,” he told Zoom from his home in Regina.
“They are [a] a golden opportunity for our country through the sovereign to recognize the unsung heroes and heroines “, he added and this year can recognize all these people, paid and unpaid, emergency workers, doctors, medical staff, nurses, clinics, all who worked it’s so hard to get us through the pandemic. “
Among the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia have announced plans for platinum commemorative medals.
Governor-General David Johnston, left, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveil the design of the Diamond Jubilee Medal, presented to mark the 1960s on the Queen’s throne in 2012 (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press)
Others – including New Brunswick and Manitoba – seem to be considering it.
Others, including Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec – do not offer a medal, but will celebrate the anniversary in other ways. (Additional information from other jurisdictions was not available. We will also continue to monitor this issue in future Fascinators.)
7,000 medals will be awarded in Saskatchewan later this spring.
“The Saskatchewan government recognizes the opportunity provided by the Queen’s unprecedented platinum jubilee year to celebrate Her Majesty’s service, as well as many people across the province who contribute positively to the structure of our society,” said Jason Quilliam, head of provincial protocol. via e-mail.
“Given that there were medals in each of the previous years of Her Majesty’s anniversary, including her coronation, it was considered appropriate to create a second commemorative medal for Saskatchewan – after the 2005 Saskatchewan Centennial Commemorative Medal. .
In Alberta, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Act came into force late last month.
Along with establishing the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for the recognition of 7,000 Alberts who “have made significant contributions to society”, he has created scholarships and awards for young Alberts who are leaders in their communities and arts.
Rower Natalie Mastrachi, left, and soccer player Diana Mattison showcase their diamond medals during a ceremony in Toronto on December 21, 2012 (Chris Young / The Canadian Press)
There are no plans in Ontario for a provincial medal in honor of Elizabeth’s reign.
“Instead, the Queen’s platinum anniversary will be celebrated through existing programs and awards ceremonies and awards in Ontario,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism said in an email.
“For example, recipients of awards and prizes in Ontario will receive a commemorative platinum anniversary pin for the lapel during the anniversary year.”
Of course, there are differing views on the significance of the medals, their relevance and relevance now, at a time when there is a wider reliance on the past, not to mention a debate that is regularly repeated about the role of the monarchy and Canada’s relations with it.
“I’ve heard comments that some people think medals are colonial,” Jackson said.
He doesn’t.
“You can say that our parliament is colonial, or the Senate is colonial, or the prime minister’s office is colonial, all because they came out of this original British parliamentary monarchical system, but I would not agree.
School principal Jennifer Carhart wiped away tears after receiving a diamond medal from Prince Charles as he toured Hazen White-St. Francis School in St. John on May 21, 2012 (Paul Chiasson / AFP / Getty Images)
John Blatterwick also sees merit in medals and wonders why – after having had other national ceremonies and commemorative medals for decades – Canada will stop now and not have one in connection with the Queen’s 70s as monarch.
“This will not happen again in our lives,” said Bladewick, a retired public health leader who has won 11 medals, including the Orders of Canada and British Columbia.
“It will not happen, probably in anyone’s life, that a person sits on [throne] for 70 years, “Blatterwick, 77, told Zoom from his home in New Westminster, British Columbia.
“Whether you like the crown or not, it’s hard not to like this queen. She’s done her duty.”
And, as he sees it, “what politicians don’t seem to understand is how valuable they are.” [medals] are for the people. “
When Bladewick received his Order of Canada in 1995, two former prime ministers, John Turner and Joe Clark, were also honored and awarded the Nobel Prize. But these are not the people he remembers from the case.
“The people I remember from this ceremony were the people of Saskatchewan, Quebec and Nova Scotia who got it for something I hadn’t even heard of, but I thought it was great.”
John Blatterwick has won 11 medals, including for the Orders of Canada and British Columbia. (Submitted by John Blatterwick)
For Bladewick, medals are priceless.
“We don’t talk much about citizenship for those people who already have it. We are talking about immigrants … but we are not talking about people who are proud of their country. But you are attaching a medal from your government and you are very proud of that – and [people] they are looking for opportunities where they can wear it. ”
Although not all provinces and territories will have platinum commemorative medals, they have found a common language in another way to mark the queen’s cornerstone.
“They’re all making some kind of jubilee garden based on our local traditions and practices,” Jackson said.
“It’s a great initiative. Quebec is doing it a little differently, as Quebec always does … The provincial crowns are doing it again.”
Anniversary visit to Canada
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, watch the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on July 1, 2017, during their last visit to Canada. (Chris Jackson / Getty Images)
The journey is Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to Canada next month may have a unique purpose as part of efforts to celebrate the Queen’s platinum anniversary.
But the three-day trip – with stops in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ottawa and the Northwest Territories – is very much in line with the wide range of royal visits in recent years: keep them short and focused.
Details of the trip have not been announced, but it seems likely that the couple will spend a day in each of the three places.
“The visit is a chance for us to show the evolution of our country, our diverse and inclusive society, and the resilience of local communities,” Governor-General Mary Simon said in a statement issued this week.
Charles has visited Canada 18 times, the first trip being in 1970. Camilla has visited him four times since 2009.
That same year, there were sparse crowds in some places and alarming moments in others when riot police had to repel about 200 anti-monarchists before the royal couple visited a gun shop in Montreal. Visits to New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 were better received.
Prince Charles and Camilla pose for a photo while visiting the historic community of Brigus, the Netherlands, on November 3, 2009 (Chris Jackson / Getty Images)
Previous trips have also focused on some of Prince Charles’ charitable interests through the work of Prince’s Trust Canada, which welcomed the visit next month.
“The Royal Tour in 2022 is significant for Prince’s Trust Canada because it is an opportunity to highlight our work, creating job opportunities for young people and members of the military and veterans’ community,” CEO Sharon Broughton said in an email statement.
WATCH Prince Charles and Camilla will visit Canada in May:
Prince Charles, Camilla, will visit Canada in May
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will visit Canada in May. The visit is planned as part of Queen Elizabeth’s platinum anniversary celebrations. 2:01
The trip comes when senior members of the royal family travel around the British Commonwealth to celebrate the anniversary. Princess Anne recently returned from a four-day trip to Papua New Guinea and Australia, and Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, embarked on a week-long visit that became controversial in the Caribbean last month.
Jackson welcomed the announcement of the upcoming visit and said it was “perfectly appropriate in the year of the platinum anniversary [that] The Queen’s eldest son, who will succeed her to the throne, is coming to see us in her higher kingdom outside the United Kingdom. “
But the scope of the visit left him disappointed.
“It’s too short, three days, for a kingdom the size and significance of Canada and the place where the federal government chose to go also disappoints me.”
Prince Charles and Camilla spotted several cupcakes with their cartoon faces while visiting Seaport Farmer’s Market on May 19, 2014 in Halifax. (Chris Jackson / Getty Images)
Not that Jackson has anything against Newfoundland, Labrador and the Northwest Territories, he said, “far from it,” but why not take …
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