Her Excellency the Right Honourable Controversy.

[Vitamin C]

I would say that the response by our American friend is a pretty good indication that the Prime Minister made a great choice in the new GG.

And I thought the Elephant represented Ye Grande Olde Beast who spews piles of shit larger than any other mammal known to man.

 

[MMMike]

It seems like his only criterion in picking the governor general is favourable media coverage. It helps to cater to minorities too. A cynic might predict the next governor general will be a blind, one-legged Chinese-French-Ukranian lesbian from Montreal.

 

[Shiva]

I was ambivalent about the new Governor General until I heard her first speech from the throne. The rumours about her being a separatist were disquieting, but considering Quebec politics where so many people have been separatist at one point or another, a firm commitment to Canada now is acceptable. More concerning was her alleged involvement with former FLQ terrorists. I think that's what's been forgotten, though- beyond her having had a meal with them for her husband's documentary, we don't know whether there actually was any relationship. It is possible she was there simply for that reason, she is a journalist herself, and that's it. Certainly, it makes no sense for a hard-line separatist to take up the position of Governor General, and her speech from the throne seemed to be exactly what the Canadian gov't should have been saying to Quebec ages ago, and precisely the type of thing separatists would not want the people of Quebec to hear.

Briser les solitudes. It's about time. And I think all these attempts to paint her as a separatist by the Bloc and Parti Quebecois show how desperate they are to discredit her to Canadian nationalists. They had hoped that she, an intelligent and professional immigrant woman, would have been bought into their cause. She represents precisely the demographic that they have had so little success in reaching out to, and let us not forget that come referendum time, every vote matters. Canada is attempting to be very representative of the people, very representative to newer Canadians, and that shows that anyone can make it in this nation. That's a powerful tie to all of those immigrants in Quebec who feel left out by the forces in Quebec who base their nationalism on a language and culture that newcomers have little in common with. Instead of feeling excluded and unQuebecois, they feel Canadian. And those in Quebec who may be soft separatists approve of this move by the PM, and certainly it will affect how they perceive Canada. The appointment of Michaelle Jean was a coup by Martin against the separatist forces and it's one of the few feathers in his cap. It was a success for the nation, and this bickering about whether she was or wasn't a separatist is just the sort of reaction the separatists were hoping to stir up among us English Canadians so they could paint us as haters of the independence of Quebec.

 

[Reverend Blair]

It seems like his only criterion in picking the governor general is favourable media coverage. It helps to cater to minorities too. A cynic might predict the next governor general will be a blind, one-legged Chinese-French-Ukranian lesbian from Montreal.

Perhaps you should read Splinters' first post in this thread, MMMike. It does a pretty decent job of outlining the woman's qualifications. She has plenty of them.

 

[Hank C Cheyenne]

It seems like his only criterion in picking the governor general is favourable media coverage. It helps to cater to minorities too. A cynic might predict the next governor general will be a blind, one-legged Chinese-French-Ukranian lesbian from Montreal.

...lol exactally....all Paul Martin cared about was to please Quebec voters and make up for the Sponshorship mess..... the GG should universally be accepted by all Canadians not just a small group or area.

..and it goes both ways ... if a hardcore redneck from Alberta was chosen as GG then it would not represent all of Canada.... just like a hardcore isolationist and possible sepratist from Quebec does not represent all of Canada.

...its sad the lot here tend to take this issue as a left Vs right battle instead of looking to see and question if this was the right choice!

 

[no1important]

RE: Her Excellency the Ri

I think she was the right choice. The only other person I would of thought would of been good would of been the Right Honourable Chief Justice of Canada, Beverley McLachlin

 

[Shiva]

It seems like his only criterion in picking the governor general is favourable media coverage. It helps to cater to minorities too. A cynic might predict the next governor general will be a blind, one-legged Chinese-French-Ukranian lesbian from Montreal.

...lol exactally....all Paul Martin cared about was to please Quebec voters and make up for the Sponshorship mess..... the GG should universally be accepted by all Canadians not just a small group or area.

Do you care about the country? Opinion polls approving this GG are running more than 75% in some instances in Quebec for the office representing a Queen they have historically despised! Aren't you happy that the people of Quebec are showing that much support for a federal institution?

..and it goes both ways ... if a hardcore redneck from Alberta was chosen as GG then it would not represent all of Canada.... just like a hardcore isolationist and possible sepratist from Quebec does not represent all of Canada.

Do you know what, 'briser les solitudes', means? It means breaking down solitudes or separations between people. That's her motto. So how can you call her a hardcore isolationist, when her stated mission is the very antithesis of what it means to be isolationist? And when it comes to any separatist leanings, what does she have to do to prove her allegiance? Die in a war or something? She's taken on an office that would be anathema to someone who is a separatist, affirmed her belief in the nation, and stated her mission as one of creating national unity and solidarity. What more do you want?

...its sad the lot here tend to take this issue as a left Vs right battle instead of looking to see and question if this was the right choice!

On that I will agree with you, and I'll add that it's also sad when threads degenerate into attacks on an individual instead of discussing his/her points. It just takes us away from discussing Canada and Canadian issues. It's much better to contact a moderator to handle a situation if there is a real transgression of the forum's rules. Many people here seem to just enjoy picking on particular forum members and it's very juvenile.

 

[Vanni Fucci]

...lol exactally....all Paul Martin cared about was to please Quebec voters and make up for the Sponshorship mess..... the GG should universally be accepted by all Canadians not just a small group or area.

Another who hasn't read the starting post?

.... just like a hardcore isolationist and possible sepratist from Quebec does not represent all of Canada.

This coming from a hardcore redneck and possible cross-dresser...

...its sad the lot here tend to take this issue as a left Vs right battle instead of looking to see and question if this was the right choice!

Well it's still not too late to reassess your position, Hank...

 

[neocon-hunter]

RE: Her Excellency the Ri

In reality what would be so wrong with having a blind person or any other disabled person as Governer General? Nothing. I also would wager Canada would be one of the first, if not the first country to do this.

 

[splinters]

and get this....his real name was not duke or john...it was marion 8O 8O 8O

L..m...a....o.
So this guy came from montreal? With a name like Nascar James, I'd bet he's one of our average italian conservative jerks that couldn't find any dumb-ette easy enough to push over. How's life with Peggy-Sue?

So Splinters, are you calling William Shatner a jerk? He's also originally from Montreal as well and now living in the US.

That's not very polite on your part.

Woooo! Look at mista' twista!
I never said people that leave Montreal and live in the states are jerks.
I must've been right about the italian conservative part. Anybody out here that's named james and like racing's italian, not to mention moreso conservative than the rest of us. You're one of the bolts that fell.

 

[Reverend Blair]

..and it goes both ways ... if a hardcore redneck from Alberta was chosen as GG then it would not represent all of Canada.... just like a hardcore isolationist and possible sepratist from Quebec does not represent all of Canada.

I'm going to stick with well-known examples here. Maybe the point will be understood.

What if next time around, when it is once again the traditional turn of somebody from English Canada, they picked Joe Clark? He's an Albertan. He's qualified. He's moderate.

How would you like it if there was a campaign from Quebec erroneously painting him as a hardcore redneck?

What if they chose Roy Romanow from Saskatchewan? Again, he's qualified, from the west, and moderate. Should Quebec get all up in arms if he were to be appointed? Should they call him a redneck?

The accusations against Jean are nothing more than mudslinging based largely on the fact that she's from Quebec. Of course she's from Quebec, the last GG wasn't. They alternate. That's the way it works and that way is even more important at this point in our history.

 

[MMMike]

Re: RE: Her Excellency the Ri

In reality what would be so wrong with having a blind person or any other disabled person as Governer General? Nothing. I also would wager Canada would be one of the first, if not the first country to do this.

Hey, I think it's great if we can find a qualified candidate who is also a visible minority or disabled. I just don't think that the fact that they are a visible minority should be considered a qualification in itself. What are the necessary qualifications of a GG anyway?

 

[Martin Le Acadien]

Re: RE: Her Excellency the Ri

In reality what would be so wrong with having a blind person or any other disabled person as Governer General? Nothing. I also would wager Canada would be one of the first, if not the first country to do this.

Actually the US had a President that was disabled and led a brilliant campaign first against the depression and then in WWII, Mr. F.D.Roosevelt

 

[Nascar_James]

I wonder how many folks in Canada prefer to eliminate the GG altogether. I would say a pretty high percentage.

In comparing cultures between Canada and the US, over here we prefer maintaining an interface between church and state versus the Queen and state in Canada. Our currency is a good example of this as we have "In God We Trust" printed on our currency whereas Canada has the Queen's image (or fomer PM's).

I'd be interested to know if they hypothetically had a nationwide referendum in Canada to choose between one of the two. Which would be more popular?

 

[splinters]

RE: Her Excellency the Ri

Oh I never said the position was great. Still, it's nice that she gets something. I like the queen on our money. Just as an eyepeice, nothing political. Our money is freaking pretty.

 

[Shiva]

I wonder how many folks in Canada prefer to eliminate the GG altogether. I would say a pretty high percentage.

Some sort of office above the prime minister is necessary according to our parliamentary constitutional framework. Countries like India have a president who essentially carries out all the same duties as the GG, but is the official head of state without anyone above him from the British royal family. It's not possible to eliminate the GG's office altogether though it is possible to reform it, and that would entail removing the monarchy which would be controversial. Considering we went through lots of constitutional referenda just ten or so years ago, and it was all devisive, it's not likely that anyone is going to touch anything constitutional for quite some time if they can avoid it. It's entirely fair, though, to point out that the monarchy as an institution in Canada is so unimportant that most people are apathetic to it, outside of a very small group of diehard loyalists.

In comparing cultures between Canada and the US, over here we prefer maintaining an interface between church and state versus the Queen and state in Canada. Our currency is a good example of this as we have "In God We Trust" printed on our currency whereas Canada has the Queen's image (or fomer PM's).

I would rather have a monarch who wields no real power than the mixing of church and state. Ultimately, it's more democratic to have a figurehead monarch than it is to mix religion and politics. I don't think that having that motto on your currency says much for a mixing of religion and politics- there are many better examples of how the U.S. mixes religion and politics (e.g. Bush's funding of religious charitable organisations, the never ending evolution debate and the attempt to add the intelligent design theory to public school curriculum, to name a few examples).

I'd be interested to know if they hypothetically had a nationwide referendum in Canada to choose between one of the two. Which would be more popular?

Between the GG and mixing religion and politics? Hands down, people would choose the GG, for several good reasons. First, it's an institution which does no harm and does do some good. Second, Canadians strongly oppose the mixing of religion and politics for obvious reasons unfortunately being forgotten south of the border (perhaps because of our greater ties to the British- interrelgious warfare is inevitable when the gov't prefers one religious group over another, and the Protestant Reformation was not fun). Third, completely eliminating the office of the GG in favour of some sort of religious involvement in politics would have unknown consequences, and could potentially cause a great deal of conflict over the reform of a harmless institution. Why go down a path that could lead to so much trouble for an institution that does no harm and does some good?

Canadians would be likely to advocate the reformation of the GG's office, open up discussion of Canada's future relationship with the monarchy, but are not likely to ever discuss mixing religion and politics.