'A solemn day': Ottawa ceremony marks end of Queen's long life and service to Canada

Nationalpost.com
Sept. 20, 2022

While world leaders gathered In London to mark the Queen’s passing, Canada’s monarch was honoured in a ceremony in Ottawa Monday, as MPs, Senators and former prime ministers noted the long reign of Elizabeth the second.

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney, the seventh prime minister to serve during the Queen’s 70-year reign, spoke fondly of a Queen who sat quietly at the centre of Canada’s system of government.

“We are largely unaffected by the major spasms of social and political discontent that have destroyed so many other countries around the world,” he said. “The role of the monarchy, and in particular, the irreplaceable role played by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second for 70 years, was absolutely indispensable in our country’s hugely impressive achievements and contributions to peace and prosperity and stability at home and around the world.”

The ceremony took place at Christ Church Cathedral, the centre of the Anglican Church in Ottawa. The Queen’s formal title included defender of that faith. There were approximately 600 people inside including most of the federal cabinet. Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh were both in attendance.

Entering the cathedral, deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland said the ceremony, one of the only ones outside of the U.K., was a way for Canada to mark an end to a remarkable life.

“It’s a solemn day for Canada. It’s an opportunity for us to recognize the end of an era, and a really admirable person who served our country for a very long time.”

A military parade proceeded the event, moving through Ottawa’s downtown to the church, with RCMP horses in the lead, followed by military members. Even in a steady drizzle, hundreds of people lined the parade route and followed the procession to the cathedral.

Planned flyovers of the event were cancelled because of the weather, but a 96-gun salute, one shot for each year of the Queen’s reign, went ahead as planned.

Mulroney was there alongside former prime minister Joe Clark, who served as foreign minister during the 1980’s when Mulroney’s government pushed the world to end apartheid in South Africa. The Commonwealth of nations came together in 1986 to impose sanctions on the apartheid regime in South Africa, adding to the international pressure the country was facing.

Mulroney said the Queen had been a valuable voice especially during the push to end that practice and free Nelson Mandela.

“That triumph, as Joe can confirm, would never have taken place in the Commonwealth had it not been for her majesty’s discreet, brilliant and generous guidance.”

He said she was a remarkable woman, who deeply valued Canada and had deep respect for English and French Canadians.

“She was extremely intelligent, a woman of impeccable judgment, resolute, selfless, witty, very witty, and kind.”

He also stressed that she had a special place in her heart for Canada, reciting a story where she described Canada as home after a trip to California where she met with then U.S. president Ronald Regan.

The ceremony also included musical performances from violinist David Baik, Tomson Highway, Ginette Reno and Rufus Wainwright.

Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson talked about her encounters with the Queen noting her majesty’s dry sense of humour.

Clarkson said the Queen once told her she would never abdicate, and when Clarkson said no one would ever expect her to, the Queen dryly replied

“I suppose if I were to go completely gaga one would have to do something.”

Clarkson pointed out all the events in Canadian history where the Queen had been present including the signing of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“We gained our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. ​​Canadians will always remember the Queen for coming to sign over what is rightfully ours. Our human rights, our human freedom,” she said.

Clarkson said the long reign of the Queen paralleled Canada’s rise into the modern country that it is today.

“The life and reign of Elizabeth the second has been witness to all efforts to become what we are meant to be; the true, the north, the free.”

As dignitaries gathered inside the cathedral, the singing of the church choir spilled out over speakers onto Ottawa’s Wellington Street, where a small crowd stood in the drizzling rain to watch a broadcast of the ceremony.

On the sidewalk next to the metal barriers that lined the street was one-and-a-half-year-old Winston, a Pembroke Welsh corgi, the same as the dozens of favourite dogs kept by the Queen throughout her 70-year reign.

Mitchell Goldie, who brought Winston to downtown Ottawa Monday, had already gotten up at 5:30 a.m. that day to watch the funeral service on TV from the United Kingdom, 5,200 kilometres away.  “But being able to have this service here in Ottawa for people to actually come and see in person is really important,” he said.

Goldie, 25, comes from a British family who have always been big supporters of the Royal Family, and said he come out to watch the commemoration Monday to show support.

“It’s the embodiment of service. She has given her entire life to service, for Canada, for the Commonwealth, United Kingdom. She’s done it with dignity and excellence.”

Earlier in the morning, police had blocked off sections of downtown Ottawa and set up barriers in advance of the memorial parade. But the crowd was slow to arrive, some likely watching the televised service from London before making their way into the damp, grey Ottawa day.

Janice Horton was there early, sitting on a bench with her son and waiting for the memorial parade to begin. She was a child when then Princess Elizabeth became queen in 1952. “In terms of my life, she’s always been there,” Horton said.

“We’ve seen how she’s provided leadership through a number of different times in our society,” including during the COVID-19 pandemic. “She gave people a lot of hope and good advice during that time.”

Monica Palitza was one of the federal public servants who had the day off on Monday. As a member of the Canadian Grenadier Guards, a reserve infantry regiment, Palitza was there when the Queen came to inspect the regiment on four different occasions in the 1980s and 1990s.

The guards would prepare for months, running drills, she said. She said the Queen (unlike then Prince Charles and Princess Diana) was never late. “You’re standing there, right, with a bear skin (cap) and you can’t really look around, but a lot of us passed out, of pure heat and pure excitement.”

Alison Wesley-James said she grew up with Wedgwood plates of the Queen’s wedding, coronation, and Diana’s wedding to Charles. “It was all through the house and everything. So definitely a part of our history.”

Both Palitza and Wesley-James said they reacted emotionally to learning of the Queen’s death. Wesley-James’ family is Scottish, and Palitza’s mother was big supporter of the monarchy. “That connection to our mothers who have both passed… it connects us to our parents and that whole generation and memories of their childhood where we were taught to respect the Queen,” Wesley-James said.

By the time the memorial parade began, there was a crowd lining the barriers to watch the procession, and then follow it down Wellington Street towards the church where the memorial would be held. Not everybody who came out on Monday had a family history hailing from the United Kingdom.

Fasih Khursheed had just arrived in Ottawa the night before from the United Arab Emirates to visit his brother-in-law . He and his family will also be immigrating to Canada soon. “This was one of the important events we wanted to join in. We felt this to be important,” he said.

The monarchy, Khursheed said, “gives comfort to the people, to the citizens of the country.”