Image Credit: The Canadian Press

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Yes, we should be willing to pay for Royal couple’s security

Jan 15, 2020 | 5:47 AM

KAMLOOPS — PRINCE HARRY, Meghan and Archie are getting a rather lukewarm response to their plans to move to Canada part-time.

The alleged crisis within the Royal Family over their decision has been big news these past few days.

One of the crucial questions is, who will pay for their security? Should Canada be saddled with forking over for their protection while they’re in this country?

In a word, yes, and here’s why.

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Either we’re a constitutional monarchy or we aren’t. There are benefits and costs to our involvement with the Royals. They play an important role in our government, and they provide celebrity entertainment, the value of which shouldn’t be under-estimated.

As for the costs, well, we have to help pay them. Whenever they visit, it costs us money.

And don’t forget we pay for security for the Queen’s representatives, the Governor-General and Lieutenants-Governor.

No doubt, some defenders of “our hard-earned tax dollars” are busy with their calculators trying to compute the costs to our citizens of the move. However, a lot of details have to be worked out before it will be possible to come up with a number.

It depends, for example, where they live — in downtown Toronto or rural B.C. — and how active they are in public events.

Besides which, it’s unlikely we would be on the hook for the total cost. The Royal Family, the U.K. government and Harry and Meghan themselves will no doubt share, and that’s open to negotiation.

So, let’s stop smirking about their desire to be “financially independent” and roll out the red carpet. It will be exciting to have them living among us, but unless we divorce ourselves entirely from the monarchy, there’s going to be some cost to it.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.