Carol - It's confusing all right! The Queen still appears on the back of every Canadian coin. Perhaps she is considered the "head of state" in some sense, but it's a strictly symbolic one at this point. She has no actual power here.

This is what happens when there is an old existing tradition in the midst of a changing social reality, and it leads to endless and really quite pointless wrangling between people over the most petty matters imaginable.

Example: Suppose someone were to suggest that the queen's face should be removed from all Canadian coins. This would infuriate people who are used to seeing it there, and like to see it there. It would delight people who harbour a grievance against the monarchical tradition. The more vocal among these two lots would hire lawyers, launch legal actions, alert the press, get on the talk shows, and drive everyone nuts with it for years and years. Blows might even be struck over the issue. Vast amounts of time and money would be consumed trying to resolve an unresolvable matter. However the courts and government finally decided it, if they EVER succeeded in doing so...the people on the losing side would feel that a GREAT INJUSTICE had been done, and it would not end there. NO! It would go to appeals, civil disobedience, and more nonsense...on and on and on.

Get the picture? It's pathetic.

This is the kind of silly stuff people waste their energy on, while truly harmful things like poverty, unemployment, environmental damage, etc., are barely dealt with at all in any serious way by the powers who could do something about them.

- LH