the arms are used as a mark of authority by various government agencies and representatives, including the prime minister and cabinet, the speaker of the house of commons, most courts (including the supreme court), and, formerly, parliament, and on the cover of canadian passports. since 1962, a banner of the arms, defaced with a variant of the queen's cypher, has formed the royal standard of canada, for use by the canadian sovereign. the personal flag of the governor general has featured the crest of the arms of canada on a blue background since 1981.