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The Ongoing Problem of Governor General Julie Payette and How it Could Have Been Prevented

9/22/2020

 
PictureGov. Gen. Julie Payette
The tenure of current governor general 
Julie Payette could be described as a wee 
bit turbulent. Early missteps were largely 
forgiven as the actions of someone new to 
the role. But as the one year anniversary 
of Her Excellency's appointment rolled 
around there were new questions. Her 
presence at various events was being 
scaled back.

One of the events she did not wish to attend was a bill signing.
This is a problem as it doesn't become law otherwise. But for a
while things were quiet and I hoped Her Excellency was
finally settling in to her role as the governor general. Then
earlier this year allegations of verbal abuse and the creation
of a hostile work environment were made against the
governor general and her secretary. This resulted in the Privy
Council Office launching an investigation into these claims.
It is unlikely comparisons to Her Excellency's predecessor 
could be avoided given his unimpeachable tenure in the
office. So how did things go so wrong? The tory partisans will
​likely point out that Julie Payette was recommended for this
appointment by Justin Trudeau while David Johnston was
recommended by Stephen Harper. Except this isn't fully true.

Stephen Harper made many poor appointments as prime
minister (mostly to the Senate). But when it came time to
appoint a governor general and later the lieutenant governors
he opted to create a committee of 
constitutional experts. He
had no input on their selection and recommended one of the
five who the committee recommended to him. David
Johnston came out of this process as did several lieutenant
governors who, as of yet, have not become famous for the
wrong reasons.

Notably, Justin Trudeau set up a committee to recommend

Senate appointments to him and this system has worked fine.
But the committee on vice-regal appointments was not kept.
There are a couple possible reasons for this. Perhaps he
already had Julie Payette in mind for the job. Or perhaps he
wanted the reflected glow of a star appointment to shine upon him. If so, his current troubles are karmic in nature. It has
become clear that the vetting process is where the problem
lies. Failure to find previous assault charges? Check. Failure
to find involvement in a fatal crash? Check. Failure to do a
basic background check with her former employers? Check.

Now lets be clear: Her Excellency is very accomplished and as
such gets a lot of attention from employers looking to hire the
best and brightest. But it is becoming clear she was thrust into
a role that does not fit her personality. As someone who has
been in that situation I can say for a fact that it is stressful.
And stress without any sort of outlet can manifest as the sorts
of behaviors she is accused of.

This leaves us with an important question: would a special
committee designed to vet vice-regal candidates beforehand
have been able to better warn the prime minister about what
he was getting into? 
If so, the greatest legacy Trudeau could
leave behind would, ironically, be to restore part of the legacy
of his predecessor and work to restore the Advisory
Committee on Vice-regal Appointments
. Everyone will
be better off.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

GGconversations: The Difference Between Being Partisan And Being Political

6/18/2020

 
Picture
Governor General Julie Payette has 
launched a video series where Her 
Excellency discusses different issues 
related to the current pandemic. It is 
always good to see Her Majesty's 
representatives taking the initiative in 
performing their role. The video series 
began in May and has covered science, 
art, entrepreneurship, and other topics. 

Some of the videos go into topics that we might call political. 
And that is fine. The Crown is permitted, even encouraged, to 
be political. Sadly, there seems to be a misconception that to 
be non-partisan requires a vow of silence. 

This is not the case. The Crown provides a vital role when it
brings a light to forgotten or neglected issues. Political parties
can do this as well but almost inevitably the issue will become
partisan by association. Only the Crown can act within the
government to look at, and sometimes even address,
problems without a partisan wrestling match breaking out.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour 

Canadian Viceregal News: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

11/8/2018

 
PictureDavid Johnston
It has been an interesting couple of
months for several of Canada's viceregal
office-holders. The media is actually
paying ​attention to them. And despite
this traditionally only occurring when
someone has done something...unwise,
the coverage has actually had some
bright spots. 

So I thought I'd give a quick overview
of what the media has been focusing on.

The Good...

Last week former Governor General David Johnston was
appointed as Canada's first Debates Commissioner. He has
been tasked with organizing the leaders debates during the
next election. With a reputation for neutrality that precedes
his time as governor general his appointment has been widely
​praised. We will return to the Right Honourable David
Johnston in ​a moment.  
PictureJocelyne Roy Vienneau
At the provincial level New Brunswick's
​Lieutenant Governor Jocelyne Roy
Vienneau has had the unenviable task
of dealing with the aftermath of an
election that left no party with an easy
path to governing. Her Honour has
dealt with the situation well by taking
counsel from all sides and making clear
to everyone what was, and was not, on
the table in terms of new elections.

Depending how the coming months turn
out Her Excellency's schedule could be
​very busy.

The Bad...

PictureJulie Payette
Current Governor General Julie
Payette has not had a good year.
An early misstep regarding her
views on religion ruffled a ​few
feathers but that issue quickly
died down and was chalked up
Her Excellency needing to 'grow
into the role'. But in September
the issue of her suitability for
that role was again an issue.
The causes were multi-pronged. She has reduced the
workload of her office, left various organizations that have
viceregal patronage in the lurch, almost caused a
constitutional crisis by being reluctant to sign a bill into law at
the required time, and generally rubbing people the wrong
way. The circumstances of appointment have left many
placing blame on the Prime Minister for abandoning the
​committee formed to advise on viceregal appointments. We'll
see if the Governor General can turn things around in the
coming year.

And The Ugly...

PicturePhoto Credit: Andrew Rusk
The Right Honourable Adrienne Louise
Clarkson (pictured) was brought out of
the anonymity of retirement by the
discovery that she has continued to
bill the government thousands of
dollars through a program created in
the 1970s to help former governors
general continue to represent Canada.
While she hasn't broken any rules she
has refused to disclose how the money
was used. She has also been the main
opponent of reforming the program. 

While Clarkson had some criticism of her spending while in
office it was defended then as going along with revitalizing
the role of governor general and partly due to the government
wanting the governor general to do more international
travel while representing Canada. The current money issue
threatens her legacy and emboldens republicans.

To the credit of the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson she
has mounted a reasonable defence of her spending. But
until there is some accountability for her spending I can see
this issue festering to no benefit of the Crown.

The Right Honourable David Johnston bolstered his own
respectable reputation (and preempted any attempt to smear
all of the former governors general with the same brush) by
announcing his intention to release financial records of his
spending since leaving office.

The Patreon

I wanted to take a second to talk about Patreon. I write this
blog for the sheer joy of it and will continue to do so even if it
doesn't make me a cent. However, the Monarchist League of
Canada does have a (rather neglected) Patreon. They
do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to the defence of
Canada's monarchy as this timeline and various other
examples can attest. If you are a regular reader I would like
to encourage you to donate to the League. Every dollar
donated helps keep republicans mired in failure and impotent
fury. And that is a good thing.
Picture
The Monarchist League of Canada Patreon
Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Julie Payette Declared Canada's Next Governor General

7/15/2017

 
PictureJulie Payette in 2009
On Thursday the Prime Minister
announced that the Queen had
approved the appointment of Julie
Payette as Canada's next Governor
General. Her term will officially 
begin this Fall. As the media has
already reported Ms. Payette is
most qualified for the position. Now,
before I continue there is something
​I would like to address.

The National Post article (my local paper as well) include a
quote by Philippe Lagasse, associate professor of international
affairs at Carleton University, about how “The reaction might
be, well, look, why do we need Royals when we can have
such stellar people as our head of state, as opposed to our
head of state’s representative? It calls into question, I would
say, the necessity of having the monarchy.
” The statement is
either unnecessary worrying or republican fear mongering. In
either case misses a key point: Ms. Payette was able to
become Governor General because of the monarchy. It is
completely unclear if she would have become president in a
republican system. Its not even issues of sexism that are the
issue, its that politics attracts specific personalities. Ms.
Payette may have that personality or she may not. Further,
you have to have the inclination to enter politics. It is equally
unclear Ms. had this inclination. Appointment (and heredity
for that matter) sidesteps both issues and asks a person to do
their duty, even if its not something you would ever seek
to do yourself. But enough on that.

Julie Payette brings an interesting skill set to the office of the
Governor General having at various times been an astronaut,
engineer, scientist, and pilot. She lacks some of her
predecessor's constitutional knowledge but she has stated she
will seek advice from the current Governor General during
the transition period. It should also be noted that the
Governor General has a number of constitutional advisers
and this situation has not proved detrimental in the past. As
noted by local commentator Norbert Cunningham, Ms.
Payette has a speaking style and gravitas that is necessary for
the office but also an upbeat sense of humour that may lend a
bit of energy to that same office. An example of this can be
seen in a recent speech she gave (before learning she was
under consideration for the position). I extend my sincere
congratulations to Ms. Payette on her appointment and look
forward to what she does with the responsibility that has been
entrusted to her. 

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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    This website is intended to be a resource for those arguing in favour of Canada's monarchy, researching Canada's royal past, or wondering what the various vice-regal representatives of the Canadian Crown are up to currently. As well, articles about other monarchies may appear from time to time. 

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