Rotting From the Head Down

Written by Paul Albers
See Website for Bio |
Sunday, August 28, 2005

Just how hard can it be to pick a Governor General?  Although not every vice-regal appointment has been an inspired choice (for example, Adrian Clarkson), no previous Prime Minister has so thoroughly messed up what should be a very simple task.

There is no way the Prime Minster can legitimately distance himself from the controversy he single-handedly created.  Michaà «lle Jean was his choice, and her record of separatist support was anything but a secret.  Her drinking a toast to Quebec independence was captured on film by her husband, whose support for separatism and FLQ terrorists is more blatant than her own.  In spite of this, Martin continued to personally vouch for the couple insisting that they are committed federalists.

I try not to attribute to malice what can easily be explained by incompetence, but I can’t help but wonder if Martin was aware of the evidence and chose her because of it.  It would not be the first time that this Prime Mister handed out patronage appointments to someone known to have a separatist background.  Jean Lapierre was instrumental in the creation of the Bloc Quà ©bà ©cois, yet that was no barrier to him joining Martin’s cabinet and serving as the government’s Quebec Lieutenant.

Although Jean’s statement last week said she never “belonged to a political party or the separatist movement’, the same thing could be said by a lot of people who supported and voted for separation.  There has been no suitable explanation for her association with FLQ terrorists or her statements that indicate support for their cause. 

Rather than confront the issue head on and putting it to rest, the governor general designee’s evasive “answers’ only fuel skepticism, especially when the text includes Martin’s over-used “Let me be clear’ phrase.  She might as well have waved her finger at us Clinton-style and said “I did not have separatist relations with that province, Quebec.’

The Liberals have a history of combating Quebec separatism with federal cash instead of federal reform, and in both Lapierre’s and Jean’s case it’s hard to find much other than the perks of their appointments to explain an apparent change of heart. 

It’s also not hard to not see parallels with the scandalous sponsorship program.  In both cases taxpayer money was used to create an illusion of growing federalist support in Quebec in the hopes that illusion would become reality.  Now that the Liberals can’t shuttle money to friendly ad firms, perhaps purchasing a few high profile conversions to federalism can have the same effect. 

Jean was unfamiliar to English Canada and it’s possible that Martin didn’t expect the media to closely scrutinize the appointment of a fellow journalist.  Even though the information was not hard to find, the first report calling Jean’s commitment to federalism into question came from Pierre Bourque’s website rather than her own colleagues in Quebec’s mainstream media.

Even without the separatist baggage the appointment is a poor one.  Before her name was released the media was proclaiming that it was Quebec’s turn.  Quite odd since there has never been a Governor General from Nunavut, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia or from Newfoundland and Labrador.  There have been more appointees from Quebec than from Alberta, Manitoba or New Brunswick.  How exactly this works out to be Quebec’s turn is beyond me.

Another poor feature of this appointment is that selecting yet another CBC personality further blurs the line between the media and the Liberal party.  Shortly after the last election, Drew Fagan (Ottawa bureau chief for the Globe and Mail), Susan Murray (CBC Radio reporter) and Campbell Morrison (columnist) accepted new senior positions with the government.  The timing was such that it was quite possible that the interview process overlapped with their work covering the election. 

It’s bad enough that we have government funded newscasts, but back to back appointments of governors general from the ranks of the CBC creates a new career path.  Rather than serving your country in the military or the civil service, you can serve the ruling party while pretending to be an objective journalist and wind up in the same office. 

Last but certainly not least is the matter of French citizenship.  It is a huge oversight that someone with dual citizenship of any kind can become Canada’s head of state, but just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it is right.  If Jean wants to be our next Governor General, she should demonstrate her commitment to Canada by giving up her foreign citizenship. 

Whether the appointment was just more of Martin’s incompetence or another failed Liberal unity plan, the end result is that we have a Prime Minister of questionable integrity appointing a Governor General of questionable loyalty and the nation is weaker for it.  Nations, like fish, rot from the head down and that funny smell coming from Sussex Drive is getting stronger.

Paul Albers is one of Canada’s foremost conservative cyber-pundits and columnists.  His articles have appeared in The Hill Times, Canada Free Press, and NewsMax.com and he has been interviewed by TV, radio and print journalists for his analysis of national events.  Mr. Albers lives in Ottawa and is the proud father of six children.

Visit to read our daily J-Log, and our many conservative-friendly columnists which we host right at our web site including: Ann Coulter, Doug Giles, David Warren, Mike Adams, Rory Leishman, Theo Caldwell, Joseph Ben-Ami, Barbara Kay, Salim Mansur, Rebecca Hagelin, Susan Martinuk, Steven Milloy, Sheila Wray Gregoire, and others including frequent guest columnists.

Please remember to support ProudToBeCanadian. Go to the website and locate the "Support us" link, please! And participate in forum questions when they're posed! Thanks!