Listening to Charles Adler rant a little today about the brazen politics involved in the selection of “black Haitian immigrant who came to Canada fleeing oppression” Michelle Who?” as new Governor General – I was struck with a realization.
All of her commendable talents aside, this marks the first time in Canadian history that the most symbolic patronage appointment in government has not been bestowed on a person who has, as in the words of the late US President John Kennedy, demonstrated “what you can do for your country.”
Instead, it has gone to an individual who brilliantly showcases the new Liberal Party version of citizenship; “What your country can do for you!”
At one of her first news conferences a reporter asked Michelle Jean if she thought she was a “token”. Well, that she isn’t.
She’s a poster child.
peter: “She fled another country and chose Canada as her home..” Micaelle Jean did not flee Haiti; her parents did and took their child of 11 with them to Canada. So she did not choose Canada either.
But she did choose to become a French citizen.
Mark
Ottawa
She could defend herself from your accusation Mark by emphasising that she pulled herself up from her bootstraps in Canada, and that she was grateful to Canada, and she loves Canada.
But then you would attack her for being “a poster child.”
I’m sure she, most conservatives, and most Canadians realize that some partisan hacks will attack her no matter what, despite the fact that she is just as qualified for the job as her predecessors were.
MoreStatism: I have never attacked Michaelle Jean for being a “poster child”. But clearly she is just that in the eyes of the Liberals and they–not her, a pawn in their game–do deserve attack. They are treating the highest symbolic office within the grant of a Canadian government with raw and cynical contempt.
And her qualifications–career achievement/governmental experience–are in no way equivalent to those of her predecessors (undistinguished as some of them may have been).
Adrienne Clarkson, as I mentioned above (August 11, 2005 10:22 PM), served, in the mid-1980s, as Agent-General of Ontario, i.e. provincial ambassador, in Paris.
The post of Governor General of Canada should not be an entry-level government job.
By the way I just heard Howard Hampton, Ontario NDP leader, on CFRA Ottawa saying there are questions about Michaelle Jean’s background, and that of her husband, that need answering.
Mark
Ottawa
EBD: “Our new GG is probably most notable for her work as a media host on CBC, where she introduced anti-American documentaries in that Maya Angelou style of precise diction and moral certainty”
Precise diction? You must be kidding! The few times I saw Ms. Jean introduce some CBC piece of socialist propaganda, ehm, excuse me, documentaries, I could barely understand what she was saying. Maybe her French diction is precise but English? Fuhgetaboudit!
Mark, wouldn’t her French citizenship come from her marriage to Lafond?
Peter Loewen: “Get over yourselves. Jean is more accomplished than any of you”
How do you know this? I speak four languages and translate fiction into and out of three of them. I have published essays and prose on three continents. Although not a native speaker of English, I perform as a jazz vocalist and guitarist with some of the finest musicians in the country. I have performed in many provinces, in the U.S. and in Europe. How is Jean more accomplished than me (and for all you know dozens of others here??) Because she is a “personality” on a network subsidised by the tax payer and watched by 6% of the population? Please do not make bold statements like the above. You know nothing of the accomplishments of the people who post here.
Damian: She did not get French citizenship automatically as a result of marriage to a French national. French citizenship can only be acquired after three years of marriage to a French citizen, and then the person must choose to make an application for French citizenship to French authorities. So the Governor General-designate made a conscious choice to acquire French citizenship in addition to Canadian.
(See the following from the French Consulate General, Vancouver: “Declaration de nationalite francaise par mariage”.
http://www.consulfrance-vancouver.org/fae/services/francais/nationalite.htm
Actually, it would seem that talent is pretty thin on the ground if Michaelle Jean is the best fit for the profile:
-black
-bilingual
-youngish
-qu�b�coise
Mark
Ottawa
Georg: I am going to guess you are the exception.
Peter
I think we’re missing the point. If she IS as Kate pointed out, a ‘poster’ child, what is she a poster child for? The recent accusations of her being sympathetic to the separatist cause are interesting and NO DOUBT PM and his crew would have been aware of that when they were shortlisting her. Maybe this is a crazy reverse psychology move on behalf of the PMO to get separatist votes?
~B
Yes, Stephen, I too missed all the good things that GG Clarkson did for Canada.
No one has seen fit to write an account of all the advances for Canada that the GG has brought about.
Are there now container ships plying back and forth with heavy trade to Iceland?
I suspect there could be the odd bottle of wine swapped, or piece of art exchanged, but if container ships of trade developed as a result her five million dollar exotic visit, where is the write-up about it?
Mystified, 73s TG
The GG-designate: ‘A source in the Prime Minister’s Office said Martin was careful in his choice, but “we do not live in Stalinist Russia and we are not going to make people crawl on their bellies and demonstrate their loyalty to Canada.”‘
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/08/12/1170633-cp.html
Well, the person could just say, freely and standing up:
“Je suis canadienne”.
Mark
Ottawa
Canada’s people deserve a better process of selecting political appointees. The current system gives absolute, unchallenged authority to one Member of Parliament to make all executive and judicial appointments.
Anyone speculate whether Michaelle Jean will renounce her naturalized French citizenship? Or will Canada actually have a constitutional head of state who owes allegiance to another nation???
While I agree that the GG’s position is a partisan one, that is probably the worst possible scenario for a parliamentary democracy like ours.
With so much power vested in the office of the PM and the ruling party to have our de facto head of state be little more than a finger puppet of the party in power brings us farther into the realm of dictatorship.
So what is the solution? Election? I don’t think this would help because more than likely the person who could get voted in to the position would share the political leanings of the majority.
Let me be perfectly clear, I don’t care what party is in power the GG should be completely non-partisan.
There is another option, one which could solve this problem once and for all.
Young Prince Harry could be asked to take the vice regal role. I know that he has his hands full at Sandhurst right now but once he is done his stint with the British Army (Royals rarely/never make a true career out of the military) he could be asked to take the post. This would make the post of GG truly non-partisan, hell if we liked the job he did we could create our own monarchy.
The Dominion of Canada (with Prince Regent Harry as the head of state) could simultaneously eliminate the appointment of GG through party politics and in an generation or two sever our dependance on a foreign power for our head of state.
I’ll put on my nomex body suit now to protect me from the flaming I’m about to receive 🙂
I think Zip has an interesting proposal. The better way to run Canada is this: While Canada would be effectively run by the Canadian people through their elected officials doing what they’re told, what they’re elected and paid to do, the Governor General could be a member of British royalty or aristocracy. Sure, it sounds a tad snooty, but it’s a better idea than having the GG chosen for political gain by a stinking moonbat kleptocrat! The GG should be there to have the untouchable power to ensure the gov’t obeys the Constitution, the Charter as it was written, and the democratic will of the common people, or else dissolve Parliament and call an election. The GG must be above political interference, and there’s no evidence at all that this is the case.
So in Canada’s referendum did she vote oui or non ?
Tough question,… if it needs to be asked she has no place in the government of Canada .
Stupid question she’s a lefty activist with no moral basis other than the shifting cause of the moment that she’s dedicated her life to fight for …or you know,…untill someone tells her she can get paid a lot more for actually supporting the other side.
JEAN : “I am a seperatist!”
LIBERAL CRAWLING UNDERLING : “Jean here’s a million and a palace.”
JEAN : “I am a Canadian!”
Peter Loewen: “Guess what folks. The position is appointed, and it’s partisan. Get over yourselves.�
I guess there�s no point in asking, �If you were the Prime Minister of Canada…..what would you do to improve the selection process of the GG?�
Well, Pete, I must admit that JM has a good argument there. Why MUST the GG position BE partisan? Yes, there’s the symbolism wrt what the Libs say about Cdn “values”, but symbolism isn’t nearly as desirable as a system of representation and gov’t that actually WORK, rather than just making the shaken-upside-down taxpayer feel warm and fuzzy once the last penny has fallen out of his pocket into the hands of a Quebec ad firm owner.
Besides, speaking of symbolism and the GG, remember when GG Leblanc foolishly took the airbrush of PCness to the Vice-Regal Lion? Gone were the tongue (too rude), the gonads (too male), and the claws (no surprise, as the Librano$ are slowly pulling the claws out of the Cdn Forces’ paws). If Leblanc had been symbolic head of state of the United States, he’d have replaced the bald eagle with a chicken. Thank goodness no such thing happened! And I also feared John Kerry would’ve done something as stupid, also.
So to get back to the main story, it seems that, only days after it was noised about on the internet (and picked up, rather reluctantly, by the mainstream media), the Governor-General-designate’s French citizenship, her ties to separatists and FLQ terrorists, and her stance on Canadian federalism have suddenly become an issue. I�ve said before that there�s not much that individual citizens can do about the Jean appointment � but I may have been wrong.
At the very least, you can write your MP and demand an answer to what, to this humble RightThinker, seems to be a rather relevant question:
Just how DID Mme. Jean vote in the referendum?
Inquiring minds � inquiring, hard-working third-generation CANADIAN minds – want to know.
rightthinkingpeople.blogspot.com
Oui ou Non, Madame Jean? That is the question.
What is the answer, M. Martin?
“In fact this matter is completely confusing to Americans.”
Speak for yourself, Greg. I’m an American and I can say with full confidence I understand Canada’s system of government better than most Canadians do (not, I’m afraid, that that’s really saying that much). Of course, that may be because I’m an attorney with a particular interest in comparative constitutional law, who spent half my first summer in law school at McGill.
“Then we’re told Canadians are kind of like the subjects of the Queen of England.”
Yes and no. They are her subjects, but in her independent capacity as Queen of the Dominion of Canada, not as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. (FYI, there hasn’t been a king or queen of ENGLAND as such since the Act of Union with Scotland in 1707: don’t confuse England–a nation–with Great Britain–an island– with the UK–a state–which are three different things).
“Canada is a member of the Commonwealth (I believe, for the most part, ex-British colonies).”
All except Mozambique, yes.
“Queen Elizabeth is the ceremonial head of state for countries of the Commonwealth,”
No, she is the ceremonial Head of the Commonwealth and seperately from that is also head of state of some but not all Commonweath member states. Some members of the Commonwealth (e.g., India, Pakistan, all of Anglophone Africa, some of the Anglophoen Carribean countries) are republics; one, Fiji, is a monarchy with a monarch other than QEII.
“Arguably, what occurred in May was a crisis, but I think Clarkson handled it fine, leaving the government a reasonable amount of time to demonstrate confidence”
Bullshit. The moment Parliament demonstrates a lack of confidence in the Government, any further acts by the Government are illegitimate. Had a British Government received a vote of no confidence as Martin REPEATEDLY did, the PM would have gone to the Queen for a dissolution, or she would have dissolved Parliament regardless as, indeed, Sir John Kerr did to Gough Whitlam in Australia. Paul Martin is no better than Charles I, and appointing Liberal sycophants and/or useful idiots as GG means there is effectively no check on the PM’s power.
“Just how DID Mme. Jean vote in the referendum?”
Since she’s a French citizen, I’d be interested to know how she voted on the EU Constitution as well.
Aahh, to bask in justified vindication by someone with McGill credentials. One couldn’t ask for more.
Looks like my Email to GG Clarkson requesting she do her duty and dissolve parliament was justified.
Sorry she had heart problems, but knowingly avoiding one’s duty to a country like Canada and taking Five million dollar wine and cheese junkets to Iceland is enough guilt to stress anyone’s heart.
Appointing GGs with puppet strings attached? Very handy device indeed.
Thank you Dave J, and a fine bunch of roses to you for your clarity of thought.
Digressing… thanks to McGill for sprouting the Tales of a little town, Mariposa, through Stephen Leacock, one of Canada’s finest humourists. 73s TG
No problem; thanks for your graciousness, Tony. I’m a Tulane alum: McGill has a special place in all our hearts, as we’re something of sister schools as the leading law schools of North America’s two mixed jursidictions. I think I found more than a hint of New Orleans in Montreal, and it doesn’t hurt that I think I brought the Gulf Coast heat up there with me.
Bugger. Beaten to the punch. HM QE2 (the fine lady not the ship) is as stated Queen of the United Kingdom. You managed to pee off all the Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish with the almost constant Queen of England….
DO NOT ask for Prince Harry as your GG. Dopehead, twit, low in morals, lacking integrity, thick as mince, scraped through Eton, helped to get through Commission Board, keeps skivving Sandhurst saying he’s ill then being able to play polo? My mates at RMA Sandhurst are fizzing at his behaviour and the way the ‘headshed’ are helping him out. Must be wanting medals or knighthoods….
Ask for Prince Andrew instead. Ex wife spends most of her time over there anyway. Nice boobs. Two lovely girls ready to marry off to handsome Westerners in a year or two. Former military with war experience. Likes golf. Would jump at chance to get away from his mad family and DO something responsible. He has a bad press over here for always playing golf but give him a job and he’ll do it.
Or would you rather have the dragon; Princess Anne!???
I’m with Dave T on that: Harry is a schmuck; Andrew would make an excellent GG.
Better yet lets get Edward.
Didn’t he attend Lakehead U?
OOh yes. And having been accused once of being ‘a nancy’ he would bring the gay community onside too! PLUS he was a TV broadcaster AND he has ethnic German/Greek blood
He’s everything the new GG is but male and Royal!
Well, someone has come up with a video of the new GG-appoint in a meeting some years ago with well known FLQ separtists. She shares a toast in favour of separation with them.
Great pick PMPM!
Oh, well, if the heat over her appointment gets to be too much, you can always pick someone from the Tamil Tigers, or some such other liberal-friendly terrorist organization to replace her.
Jema:
According to your own writings, you are an immigrant…You stated that “a Canadian who was not born and not raised in Canada cannot speak for Canadians”…Are you not contradicting yourself a little bit, because you are actually speaking for Canadians allthough you are an immigrant?
a) I don’t think that we need a GG to begin with
b) I am not happy with the appointment of Jean, but not because she was not born here. (She was only 11 for God sake when she came here!!!)
c) I think it is time to acknowledge the First Nations of Canada
d) I am also an immigrant. I came 16 years ago to Canada. I got married here, and my children are born in Qu�bec and Ontario.