In response to a letter from an individual in British Columbia, a correspondence officer at Buckingham Palace has replied that Queen Elizabeth is taking “careful note” of Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence’s health, but that “this is not a matter in which The Queen would intervene”, and that “as a constitutional Sovereign, Her Majesty acts through her personal representative, the Governor General, on the advice of her Canadian Ministers and, therefore, it is to them that your appeal should be directed”.
The news article notes, “While the letter may remove the palace from any official role in the controversy, it does send a signal to the prime minister that he bears great responsibility for the lengthy protest by Spence, said Isadore Day, chief of the Serpent River reserve near Elliot Lake, Ont. ‘The prime minister needs to have a little bit of moral reflection,’ Day said. The fact the Queen wrote back at all is telling, he said. ‘What I hear in that letter is a recognition and a concern for her health. That message should get through to the prime minister.'”
“Spence is camped out on Victoria Island, within site of the Parliament Buildings, where she says she will continue to protest until the Governor General and the prime minister meet all chiefs on the plight of First Nations people. She announced last week she would boycott a meeting between the Assembly of First Nations and Harper because the Governor General would not be attending. ‘We have sent a letter to Buckingham Palace, requesting that Queen Elizabeth II send forth her representative, which is the Governor General of Canada,’ Spence said in a statement on Jan. 9.”
The news article is at http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Buckingham+Palace+rejects+appeal+intervene+Chief+Spences/7835130/story.html.
