Believe it or not, this fellow won an award for "art" from our Governor General after sticking a vial of his own blood....well, read the entry at Canadian Republic. As the Governor General is the Queen's highest representative in Canada, this is just another reason why we so badly need a republic north of the border. (Thanks to Kathy Shaidle for the tip off.)
This sort of thing can happen just as easily in a republic. Case in point: some of the stuff the National Endowment for the Arts funded during the Clinton years.
But did it receive a presidential award?
I guess not. But still, would the GG give an award if the PM expressly opposed it? I've never been to Canada, but the Wikipedia article I read on the GG basically implied that she doesn't even sneeze without the PM telling her to do so. And the PM basically tells (or "advises") the Queen (or following my usages in this post, should I just say "the Q." ;) who to appoint as GG, right? So what you need is a more socially conservative government much more than a new form of government.