By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
OAKVILLE, Ontario, July 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A statement from the Monarchist League of Canada regarding the appointment of Henry Morgentaler to the Order of Canada has led one officer of the League to resign his membership after he was dismissed from his position of Niagara Regional Chair.
Calvin Arnt, of St. Catherines, Ontario, objected to the Monarchist League issuing the statement which, though cautiously worded, seemed to be an endorsement of Morgentaler’s appointment to the Order of Canada.
The statement quoted the citation accompanying the announcement of Dr. Morgentaler’s appointment: “For his commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations,” and compared his appointment to that of past Prime Minister Kim Campbell, who was labeled as a “divisive and partisan figure.”
The statement then went on to criticize those who have denounced the decision to award Morgentaler the Order of Canada because of its divisive nature, observing that it is “routine” to name former Prime Ministers – including the controversial Kim Campbell – to the Order, despite the fact that Prime Ministers “are by their nature, divisive and partisan figures.”
The statement also expresses the position that the public at large is not qualified to judge the merits of Morgentaler’s appointment based on his activities.
“Most Monarchists, and one suspects, most Canadians, are not qualified to judge the relative merits of Dr Morgentaler’s contributions to humanist and civil liberties organizations – although understandably some will see the terms as coded references to activities in support of a particular part of the political spectrum. How much these activities weighed in the Committee’s judgment, as opposed to the ‘increased health care options’ commitment we cannot know.”
Mr. Arnt told LifeSiteNews.com that the Monarchist League of Canada’s mission is to promote understanding of and loyalty to the Canadian Crown, and being drawn in to the debate on Morgentaler’s appointment is outside of its mandate.
“There was no need for the League to make any kind of statement on the issue since it does not directly involve the League. Now with our Chairman speaking out on it, this will have the tendency to divide league members,” Mr. Arnt explained.
He continued, saying, “the statement’s defense of the Governor General and the committee to give the award because it’s supposed to honour any Canadian who has made a significant contribution to the nation is naëve. Morgentaler got the award because his actions fit in with the current state of morality in Canada.”
Mr. Arnt believes he was dismissed from his position because he spoke out in a public forum, that is, the League’s message board and Facebook site, against not only Morgentaler’s appointment, but about the way the chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada, Robert Finch, handled the situation.
Mr. Finch told Mr. Arnt that regional officials were forbidden from publicly contradicting a statement issued by the League.
The Monarchist League did not respond to requests for an interview by press time.
To view the Monarchist League of Canada statement: https://members.boardhost.com/monarchist/msg/1215628871.html
To respectfully voice your concern, please contact:
Robert Finch,
Dominion Chairman
The Monarchist League of Canada
PO Box 1057
Oakville, ON,
Canada L6J 5E9
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.monarchist.ca/new/index.html
Office: 1-800-IM-LOYAL (1-800-465-6925)