Queen's trip to Canada could get political

[Blackleaf]

From The Telegraph -

The hats have been boxed, the coats and evening gowns neatly folded and the tiara polished.

All is set then for the Queen to be whisked straight from Tuesday's State Opening of Parliament to the Canadian Airbus that will transport her and Prince Philip to Regina in Saskatchewan

It will be her 23rd visit to Canada, a country for which she holds a particular affection.

That is unless her private secretary, Sir Robin Janvrin, answers his phone between now and then to an apologetic Canadian prime minister delivering the news: "It's all off." For Canada is in political meltdown.

The Liberal government is teetering on the brink of collapse and, should prime minister Paul Martin fall before the Queen is airborne his advice could be to stay at home.

His demise will automatically trigger a general election, and Canada in the middle of an election campaign is no place for a Queen who has avoided political hot potatoes throughout her 53-year reign.

Mr Martin has so far staved off a vote of confidence over allegations that the Liberal government gave millions of dollars in contracts to firms in Quebec, with many of those firms, allegedly, then paying kickbacks to the Liberal Party.

But, under pressure from Conservatives, he is being forced to hold one on Thursday when parliament gathers to vote on his federal budget. That is two days into the Queen's nine-day tour of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

If he is still standing by the time she touches down, the prediction is he will lose the May 19 vote.

Thus the man who greets the Queen as her prime minister at the bottom of the runway steps at Regina may no longer be her prime minister two days later.

At Buckingham Palace all they can do is watch, hands tied. "We await the outcome of the vote and subsequent government advice. That advice will depend on the vote and may affect the Queen," said a spokesman.

If she goes, she may well be asked to turn around and come right back should Mr Martin lose. And if he loses, but advises her to stay - to spare disappointment for Saskatchewan and Alberta which each celebrate 100 years of joining the Confederation and have planned elaborate festivities - well, that causes a whole set of new problems.

With no government, what of the grand luncheon to be "hosted by the Government of Canada" in Regina on May 20? Or the PM's formal speech, and his presence at her official departure ceremony in Calgary?

There are always local difficulties for the Queen to negotiate on foreign tours. But a country in political crisis could be trickier.

www.telegraph.co.uk

[Shaftsbury]

I find this rather amusing

It's the Liberal party that's having all the problems, and Liberals in Alberta and Saskatchewan are about as common as three legged gophers.

So what if there's no Prime Minister to meet the Queen? I'm sure we can find somebody that's up to the job, obviously Paul Martin isn't.

[Commander CMG]

I find this rather amusing   

It's the Liberal party that's having all the problems, and Liberals in Alberta and Saskatchewan are about as common as three legged gophers.

So what if there's no Prime Minister to meet the Queen? I'm sure we can find somebody that's up to the job, obviously Paul Martin isn't.

624726[/snapback]

I don't understand your post.. Are you insulting our Queen? are you insulting the Saskatchewan's. I would appose this as I have many Native Saskatchewan friends.

[Shaftsbury]

Not at all.

We here in the prairies are looking forward to seeing the Queen's visit.

What I was saying is that whether or not our federal government is in shambles, we here in Alberta and Saskatchewan are well equipped to handle her visit, as we have very few Liberal politicians in power here.

[Thanato]

I dont trust harper, i trust Martin more. The lesser of 2 evils.

~Thanato