Canadian taxpayers spend millions annually on members of the Royal Family. (Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage) The British North America Act was passed on July 1, 1867. On that day, Canada became an independent nation with its own culture, values and a diverse people. Along with becoming its own country, the many issues of everyday Canadians fell to the Canadian government. Such expenditures include the ever-rising costs of health care, education, defence and energy, among many others. Today, Canada is in debt to the tune of $632 billion dollars. That is no small expenditure, especially when a large portion is just paying off interest to service that debt. Canada has a longstanding history with Britain and the monarchy, which will forever be cemented in the history books. Such a partnership no longer has merit for both countries, however, as Canada no longer relies on Britain for very much. The majority of Canadians do not support giving tax breaks and tax dollars to the extremely wealthy -- well, except for one. There is one family in particular that falls under this category, and that's the Royal Family.

What if I told you that Canada, in its annual budget, spends millions on a monarchy which provides no real benefits to the Canadian people? The Governor General's financial report stated that in 2015 the British monarchy's costs for Canada were nearly $43 million dollars a year. The Diamond Jubilee ceremony in 2012 cost Canadian taxpayers $7.5 million dollars, just to celebrate the Queen. These figures don't even cover the costs of royal visits, such as the visit of Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge earlier this year. These are no small sums of money, considering the poverty, health inequality, national debt, crises plaguing our aboriginal communities, and many other social issues which need the immediate attention of our government. There is no merit in royal visits to Canada, except for the fanfare and media coverage which costs our taxpayers valuable dollars. Now, Canada has one of the highest bills of any nation in the Commonwealth. This needs to stop immediately.