THE recent decision by our federal government to restore the Royal title to Canada's navy and air force can easily be seen as a sop to loyal Conservative supporters, and there's no doubt that it is. Generally speaking, older Canadians who retain a sentimental attachment to the British crown do tend to lean towards the Tories. It's also unlikely that many Canadian civilians care all that much about what name various branches of their armed forces go by.
Some critics are arguing that royal monikers evoke Canada's colonial and imperialist past, something they would sooner see forgotten. While there's no doubt many evils were done in the name of the British crown, we should also remember the great and noble achievements of the Canadians who carried that banner, be it the defeat of the Nazis or the defusing of the Suez Crisis, an exercise that created our once-cherished role as peacekeepers and, richest of ironies, ended Britain's imperial adventuring once and for all. Nor should we demean the service of the many Canadians with no British heritage who proudly serve in royalnamed units even today.
The decision is ultimately a branding exercise. But branding is powerful, particularly when it taps into tradition. A sense of history, of being part of something large and enduring is no small thing in the military. That some chapters in that history are appalling doesn't mean we should bury it under the blandness of political correctness. Canada's royal military heritage should be displayed - to quote a great English republican - warts and all.
