The Roach Being Taken To Task

Love us or leave us!

Honour our traditions
Contributed by: jensonj
May 12, 2007
Honour our traditions

By JOSEPH QUESNEL

We have reached absurdity in Canada when non-citizens challenge the constitutionality of our very system of government.

Charles Roach, a lawyer from Toronto, is attempting a class action lawsuit against the government for requiring newcomers to recite an oath of allegiance to the monarch.

The oath, he said, "violates" his Charter.

Roach was born a British subject in Trinidad and Tobago and is now a permanent resident. He would recite the oath when he became a lawyer, but he was denied citizenship when he applied for it back when he needed it for admission to the bar. He asked the judge to change it, which he refused.

It is right to protest oppressive practices wherever they occur, but this is not one of them. Roach was asked to affirm the government of the country he immigrated to.

If he refuses, I hope he never gets citizenship. If Roach wants discussions on the monarchy, he can become a citizen first and enter the debate. Until then, he is a guest who should play by the rules.

It is disrespectful when some newcomers demand that Canada alter its history and tradition to suit them, rather than the other way around. Roach would probably not appreciate it if I went to his birth country and demanded the same.

If he can't handle our monarchy, he should have thought about that first.

This land is our land........