Our New Governor General

[jmacleod]

Appointment of the GG Canada is always a political appointment, has been for decades. The
decision would have been made in the PMO with direct input from the Quebec Caucus, whose
leader is the present Minister of Transport - it is a smart move, and most Canadians will accept
the new GGCanada as a great success story for a variety of reasons. GG Clarkson proved to be
in my estimation one of the best, and despite some opposite opinions, Ralston Saul is a great
supporter to the Canadian military, as opposed to the current Martin government which is not.
The recommendation for this appointment is based on the declining Liberal presence in Quebec
particularly in the metro areas of Montreal and Quebec city, and the fact that the Minister of
Transport, a "born again Liberal" has strong ties to the Quebec media, from which the new CCG
has emerged. Criticism of this appointment has to be carefully thought out, because of gender
and racial overtones, however the decision has been made. I agree with Acorn, this is a Party
strategy, not necessarily a government generated option. All, I think, should wish the lady well.
MacLeod

 

[Brad Sallows]

If the appointment was made for political advantage, it's past time to decouple the appointment entirely from any role in the function of government.

 

[jmacleod]

Everything this Government does is for political advantage, either for the Party or the Government
-which is not necessarily the same thing. The "Party" appears to me to be focused on dumping
Martin - the "Government" appears to be seeking a majority mandate in the 'spring of 2006. If
Martin wins a majority, which he fully expects, the "Party" will back off. Martin expects to be PM
for ten years, and the Conservatives are still dumping on Harper, particularly in Ontario, which is
the real strength of the Liberal Party - a badly divided opposition, and a bought off NDP/PQ. But
the choice of a CGG is a political appointment, the same as the Supreme Court is motivated by
politics - how could it otherwise when the PMO selects the Judges. Appointments, and the
almost total lack of input from elected Members of Parliament is the biggest flaw in our system
-the American process is more democratic, and the President has to fight hard to sustain his
choice for an appointed position - all we can do is write shocked and appalled Letters to the
Editor!  MacLeod

 

[Gunner98]

From Senate discussions in Hansard in October 2001.   http://sen.parl.gc.ca/dhays/Rulings/011025-en.htm

Perhaps it is time to revisit this discussion at an official level.

"... it is a direct exercise of the Royal Prerogative. According to Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada, second edition, at page 10

    ...the Crown possessed certain prerogative legislative powers over British colonies. These powers are mainly of historical interest for Canada today; but...the office of Governor General still depends upon a prerogative instrument.

This prerogative instrument is the Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General, 1947, which is still in force.

Under the conventions developed under our Constitution to provide for representative government, the Sovereign acts on the advice of the Prime Minister. Conventions are not legal rules, in that conventions are not capable of enforcement in the courts. However, the letters patent provides that the Governor General is to be appointed by commission under the Great Seal, which means that the signatures of the Sovereign, the Prime Minister and the Registrar General are all required on the commission to appoint a Governor General.

Therefore, until the 1947 letters patent are amended or revoked, [the participation of the Prime Minister in the naming of a Governor General is required in law. Furthermore, since the appointment of a Governor General is an exercise of the prerogative, and since the participation of the Prime Minister in an appointment is necessary, the Sovereign is legally entitled to the advice of the Prime Minister on the exercise of Her rights."

 

[Roy Harding]

From Senate discussions in Hansard in October 2001.  http://sen.parl.gc.ca/dhays/Rulings/011025-en.htm

Perhaps it is time to revisit this discussion at an official level.

"... it is a direct exercise of the Royal Prerogative. According to Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada, second edition, at page 10

    ...the Crown possessed certain prerogative legislative powers over British colonies. These powers are mainly of historical interest for Canada today; but...the office of Governor General still depends upon a prerogative instrument.

This prerogative instrument is the Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General, 1947, which is still in force.

Under the conventions developed under our Constitution to provide for representative government, the Sovereign acts on the advice of the Prime Minister. Conventions are not legal rules, in that conventions are not capable of enforcement in the courts. However, the letters patent provides that the Governor General is to be appointed by commission under the Great Seal, which means that the signatures of the Sovereign, the Prime Minister and the Registrar General are all required on the commission to appoint a Governor General.

Therefore, until the 1947 letters patent are amended or revoked, [the participation of the Prime Minister in the naming of a Governor General is required in law. Furthermore, since the appointment of a Governor General is an exercise of the prerogative, and since the participation of the Prime Minister in an appointment is necessary, the Sovereign is legally entitled to the advice of the Prime Minister on the exercise of Her rights."

Gunner98 - I'm impressed (not a state of being that I'm accustomed to).  I do believe you've just significantly upped the intellectual ante on this thread.

I will keep your example in mind the next time I'm attempting to discuss a factual matter (as opposed to an opinion matter).

Well done.

 

[jmacleod]

No one will challenge the appointment of the GGC. A challenge could be considered racist and anti-French
Canadian, not to overlook the various groups representing women,blacks, immigrants, - you name it.
There is an interesting Editorial in the Moncton Times and Transcript today, deploring the influence of politics in "appointments" which is unusal for the Irving owned paper, but realistically, that is the
system and process voted for the last 60 years, and there is no change on the horizon - how
are receipients of the Order of Canada selected - not by answering multiple choice questions correctly.
From a strictly political perspective, the appointment of a black, female, immigrant with strong
media connections in the Government owned national broadcasting system, and fluency in many
languages plus the fact that she is very attractive, is a smart move. The official Opposition will not
question the decision, and a few weeks from, the lady will be sworn in - and that will be the end
(and the beginning) of a new perspective in Ottawa. MacLeod

 

[Infanteer]

Mr MacLeod's viewpoint sounds pretty good to me.  Machiavelli is giving the nod of approval to the Liberal Party of Canada right now.

 

[RangerRay]

So far, I am less than impressed.

Is it too much to have someone as stature to be Her Majesty's representative, like General Georges Vanier?

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I think we can safely say we've run the gamut here. I say we lock it up til we see how she does.

 

[old medic]

GG's hubby Queen-hater?
Lafond didn't want Her Majesty staying at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, says source
By DAVID AKIN, Parliamentary Bureau Chief
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/canada/2010/07/06/14630546.html

OTTAWA – Jean-Daniel Lafond didn’t want the Queen to bunk at Rideau Hall when the monarch visited the nation’s capital last week, QMI Agency has learned.

Even though Lafond and his wife Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean were out of the country on a state visit to China when the Queen arrived in the capital on June 30, Lafond asked that the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, find somewhere else to stay.

It was a bizarre request that raised more than a few eyebrows in official Ottawa, partly because Rideau Hall is, for all intents and purposes, the property of the Queen.

“It’s very, very unfortunate,” said Robert Finch, dominion chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada. “I’m just amazed and puzzled at how the spouse of the Queen’s representative in Canada would have the gall to put up a fuss about the Queen staying in her own residence. It is her residence, after all.”

Lafond gets to live at Rideau Hall — and be addressed as His Excellency — because he is the spouse of the governor general who is the Queen’s representative in Canada.

Jean apparently had nothing to do with Lafond’s odd request.

The Queen has bedded down at Rideau Hall any other time she’s ever visited Ottawa, beginning in 1951 when she was then Princess Elizabeth.

Lafond’s request for the Queen to find a bed at a downtown hotel was ignored and she is understood to have spent three nights in Government House, the official name for Rideau Hall.

Jean’s staff refused comment on the royal residency, citing security concerns.

It’s the latest — and possibly last — eyebrow-raiser involving Lafond, whose early associations and apparent sympathy for Quebec separatists caused more than a little concern when he first arrived at Rideau Hall in 2005 after former prime minister Paul Martin made Jean the governor general.

Jean and Lafond will end their tenure at Rideau Hall later this summer. She will become a special envoy to Haiti for the United Nations.

The 107-room Rideau Hall has been the official residence of the governor general since 1867.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Denial inbound!:

"I therefore vehemently deny the insulting and ill-intentioned remarks that have been attributed to me"

More on the link (that's firewalled where I am).