The NDP "is not planning any changes to our current form of the parliamentary system"

It is not often I get to talk about issues related to the monarchy on this blog. I mostly keep that on the other blog I write
for. However the Monarchist League of Canada recently surveyed the main federal parties on their views towards the
Canadian Monarchy. One of the answers was curious though. The NDP's reply was thus:

"The NDP is not planning any changes to our current form of the parliamentary system. Our
focus is on meeting the challenges of middle-class families for better jobs, affordable
childcare and reliable healthcare."

Now there are a few things to address here. First, yes they are. The NDP has stated that if elected they will abolish the
Senate which, last I checked, was still a part of our parliamentary system. Now, it could be that the NDP means they have
no plans over the next four years. Senate reform is complex and some feel it could take anywheres from 5 to 10 years to
abolish the Senate completely. So the answer is either less than truthful or very limited in scope.

​The second issue with the response is the fact that it doesn't mention either the monarchy or the sovereign. Giving an
answer to a question without referring to the topic of said question is...odd. More odd when you consider that had the
NDP wrote that they weren't planning any changes to Canada's 'constitutional monarchy', rather than 'parliamentary
system', they could have avoided any potential confusion.

​The third issue is the entire second sentence. It is nice to know the NDP is focusing on these issues but it has nothing to
do with the question asked. Whether you can read a sentiment of "why are you bothering us with this?" into their reply
depends on what you think about the NDP to begin with.

Finally there's the quality of this response compared to all the other ones. Frankly, it was the worst of all four responses.
The Conservative Party have a solidly supportive reply. This is to be expected. While nice to see, for a variety of reasons I
can't vote for them. The Green Party reply is interesting as it merely points to Elizabeth May's comments in the House of
Commons back in 2012. Not that I mind this as to my knowledge it is the most supportive speech ever given for the Canadian Monarchy on the floor of the House of Commons. Indeed, I've not had a problem with Mrs. May's views on the
monarchy. However, the Green Party candidates I've talked to are a different matter. It makes voting Green a very risky
proposition. The Liberal response is the second on the issue I've seen from the Liberals since Justin Trudeau took over as
leader. I had a hand in getting the first one from Justin only a year after he took over as leader (I actually tried to get his
views during the leadership race but, alas, he probably had a lot of correspondence). Here is what he wrote in reply: 

"At the 2012 Liberal Party Convention, delegates were invited to introduce, debate, and vote
on Liberal policy. Delegates explicitly rejected a motion to include severing Canada's ties with
the monarchy as part of Liberal policy. My view is that severing our centuries-old connection
to the monarchy is not a decision to be made lightly. The monarchy remains a cornerstone of
Canada's foundation, and any debate surrounding changes to this institution must include as
many Canadians as possible in the discussion."

The more recent quote is more clearly supportive. Now, I take any statement made during an election campaign with a
grain of salt but since the local Liberal candidate has also been positive on this issue it seems I will be voting Liberal this
time around. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.