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First Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Why is King Charles opening the Canadian parliament?
King Charles is set to open the 45th session of Canada's parliament on Tuesday with his Speech from the Throne. Charles, who has visited Canada over a dozen times as prince, is making his first visit to Canada as head of state. But what is a constitutional monarchy? How does it work? read more A constitutional monarchy is when a king or queen remains the head of the state of a nation. Reuters King Charles III is on a trip to Canada today and tomorrow. Charles will open the 45th session of Canada's parliament on Tuesday with his Speech from the Throne. Charles, who has visited Canada over a dozen times as Prince, is making his first visit to Canada as a king. He is doing so at the invitation of Prime Minister Mark Carney. Charles is making the speech in this capacity as head of state of Canada – which remains a constitutional monarchy to this day. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But what is a constitutional monarchy? How does it work? Let's take a closer look What is a constitutional monarchy? A constitutional monarchy is when a king or queen remains the head of the state of a nation. Under this system, the head of state and the head of the government are two different people – like in Canada and Britain. Canada has been a constitutional monarchy since 1534 – when it was claimed by the king of France. Since then, Canada has witnessed a number of monarchs take the throne. King Charles meets Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney at Buckingham Palace. File Image- AP Queen Elizabeth II – or 'mummy' as Charles referred to her – was the first monarch to be proclaimed Queen of Canada. This occurred in 1953 when Canada passed the Royal Style and Titles Act. In neither place does the monarch actually 'rule' the country. So how does it work? The sovereign's powers are usually defined by a country's constitution and its other laws. While Britain has no written constitution – its governments and monarchs hew to centuries of traditions, conventions and laws while conducting the affairs of state – Canada does. The monarch in Canada is usually represented by the governor general. The governor general is appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. It is the governor general that carries out most of the monarch's duties in Canada in a non-partisan manner – constitutional duties such as ending a session of parliament, presenting honours to the military, and overseeing ceremonies and welcoming dignitaries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The current Governor General is Mary Simon, as per BBC. While Britain has no written constitution – its governments and monarchs hew to centuries of traditions, conventions and laws while conducting the affairs of state – Canada does. Reuters While it would usually would fall to Simon to make the Speech from the Throne – on behalf of the prime minister – Mark Carney has personally invited Charles to do so. This is seen as Carney sending a message to the United States – Canada is a sovereign nation and will remain so. 'Because we have a constitutional monarchy, the king can only operate inside a box that is defined by parliament – because we don't want a king, or any unelected person, affecting policy and laws,' Justin Vovk, a royal historian and author, told The Guardian. 'Any influence the monarch exerts is done through subtlety.' In short, King Charles' role as a representative of the crown in Canada is to bring people together. Charles III in his declaration to the Accession Council on September 10, 2022 Acknowledged his role thus: 'I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me. In taking up these responsibilities, I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set in upholding constitutional government and to seek the peace, harmony and prosperity of the peoples of […] the Commonwealth Realms and Territories throughout the world.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD New citizens of Canada, Members of Parliament and the Legislatures, military and police officers all swear allegiance to the monarch. Canada and Britain aren't alone – Charles is king of over a dozen Commonwealth states including New Zealand and Australia. However in every state, the monarch plays a different role. With inputs from agencies
SBS Australia
03-05-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
'Absolute rot': Five fact-checked claims you should know before voting
The Australian federal election is on today, and hundreds of candidates have spent the past few weeks suggesting why they should be part of the new parliament. While many of the claims made by politicians and their supporters stack up, that's not the case for all of the information shared in the lead-up to the election. Here are five claims made about the election that aren't quite correct. No, voting isn't an act of fraud A Facebook post suggests there are no lawful candidates and that it's a crime to vote. This stems from the erroneous claim that there has been no valid head of state in Australia since 1973 due to the Royal Style and Titles Act from that year. AAP FactCheck says it's a debunked sovereign citizen myth, and the Act sets out the formal title for the Queen but has no effect on any other laws. Peter Dutton won't cut $350b from the health budget An advert authorised by Labor appears to suggest Labor will cut $350 billion from Victorian hospitals. Labor has told AAP FactCheck the ads did not specifically say the cuts would come from health spending. Dutton has said he would reduce "wasteful spending", but has ruled out reductions to frontline services . The Coalition costings have revealed savings including from ditching Labor's student debt plan, axing its housing fund, and reducing foreign aid. READ MORE The cuts that could leave some Australians worse off after election day Labor's approach to migration did not cause the housing crisis Dutton has claimed that higher migration under Labor has "really created a housing crisis". Experts have said the shortfall in housing pre-dates Labor's term in office. Michael Fotheringham, managing director of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, told AAP FactCheck the idea that the crisis was created under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government is "absolute rot", adding: "This is a crisis that's been 40 years in the making." READ MORE The housing affordability stumbling block being ignored by both major parties Bulk-billing claims don't include context The Coalition claims bulk-billing rates for GPs have fallen since Labor won power in 2022. While this is true, experts say this is due to a complex mix of factors. They say elevated inflation rates (which started rising before Labor took office) and the failure of indexation of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items to keep up with inflation have made the costs of running a GP clinic higher, and less attractive for doctors to bulk bill. Bulk-billing rates also rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic because vaccine and telehealth appointments were funded as part of the government response. Meanwhile, Albanese's claim that bulk-billing rates were in "free-fall" when Labor came into office has been found to be misleading because, while rates were going down, they fell more rapidly after Labor took government. Albanese isn't 'proud' of alleged preference deal with Greens A video circulating on social media appears to feature fake quotes from Albanese. "We're proud to say we will preference the Greens … and we're grateful they have preferenced us," a voice says with pictures of Albanese speaking underneath. But there's no evidence the Labor leader used those words at the Adelaide event, AAP FactCheck said. Labor has suggested supporters give their second preference to the Greens in over two-thirds of lower house seats but this isn't the case in all 150 electorates. Albanese has distanced himself from preference suggestions on how-to-vote cards, saying they were a matter for the organisational wing of the party. For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter .
