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OTTAWA — In a move the Monarchist League of Canada decries as “unhelpful” to Canadian identity, the federal government is no longer sending prints of the Queen’s portrait to Canadians who request them.

Although images of Her Majesty are still available to download, the League, which hitherto helped Canadian Heritage distribute physical copies, is concerned that the nation’s smaller communities could suffer since not all have access to lithographic printing facilities.

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“Over the years, we’ve distributed thousands of them,” said the organization’s chairman, Robert Finch, on Wednesday, lamenting that only a few print copies of a “rumoured new picture” are expected to be made available within the government. He added, “I don’t want to beat up on Heritage, because they have been a great partner.”

After putting out a press release Wednesday that points out Heritage’s quiet decision to stop offering lithos, Finch said there’s always hope the government will reverse its decision, or at least come up with alternatives. “In my last conversations with them we talked about us possibly getting some print copies that we could continue to distribute,” he said. “But we’re also exploring options for ourselves, for us to print them as well.”