The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Patronage plus "Patronage is the glue that binds the parties together," was a realistic opinion expressed by a high ranking Liberal some time ago when some government appointments were being questioned by the press. In other words, party members and supporters will continue to slave along in the hope that some goodies will come along such as an appointment to the Senate, a well paying board, or to a position of power and prestige such as Lieutenant-Governor or even Governor-General. In early August, Paul Martin announced the September appointment of Canada's next Governor-General Ñ another (but lesser known) CBC host Michaelle Jean, an Haitian-born Quebecer who is heralded as an "award-winning" journalist. Jean will follow the other CBC host Adrienne Clarkson, showing perhaps the closeness of the CBC and the Liberal party. Like most Canadians I admit to knowing nothing about the next Governor-General, as like most Canadians I have never watched any of her programmes. Even the Conservative and NDP parties had no comment when Paul informed them of the upcoming happening, claiming they didn't know her. One local Liberal claims that her CBC programmes are not that good, and her hosting is the same. Ms. Jean's coming appointment raised a considerable number of eyebrows as journalists and others questioned the second appointment in a row of a person totally unqualified for the position. Why unqualified? Like Clarkson, she has never been elected to any position, hardly knows the system, but promises to seek good advice. Paul Martin felt compelled to defend his choice on TV and in most Canadian papers including The Reminder. Jean herself also wrote an acceptance article trying to show she was up to the job and claims she is "A woman of action who can't wait to get started." If she is anything like Clarkson, taxpayers should shudder at this statement. Clarkson, readers will remember, is best known for her lavish trips and excessive spending of taxpayers' money, so much so that the Prime Minister had to clamp down on her budget. The Governor-General's position has become largely ceremonial since Trudeau repatriated the Constitution, and many critics feel it should be done away with to save a lot of money. Others however point out that the position could be critical in time of political crisis in Canada, as the Governor-General in theory at least has the power to dissolve Parliament and call an election or to hand over the government to the opposition, which has happened before in Canadian history. They point out that the position is a safeguard for the people in case the Prime Minister goes insane or out of control such as is the case of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, as the Governor-General can take over and call another election. They do insist that you need someone qualified for the office, not selected because of color, gender, or other similar status. Governors-General such as former Manitoba Premier Ed Shreyer or Hon. Ramon Hnatyshyn, the first Governor-General of Ukrainian ancestry, were appointees who were extremely well qualified, capable and knowledgeable to handle any political crisis in the country. The same could be said for most of the previous Governor-Generals including those appointed by the various Monarchs, which is not the case of the last two. This appointment and others show the unchecked power of the Prime Minister's office and a lack of any checks and balances even in a minority situation. In the USA no appointee to high office or the judiciary is approved without being vetted by a congressional committee. Ms. Jean, for example, would be subjected to a thorough background and knowledge check (which she obviously was not by the Prime Minister's office) plus questioned on her opinions and beliefs plus subjected to press scrutiny. What happened in Canada? The 'spin doctors' from the PM's office, the slavish eastern press, and the Liberal-loving CBC, plus the appointee herself provided all the positive rationale saying how wonderful she is with her ability to speak several languages, and what a wonderful journalist and mother she has become, etc. etc. Not a word about her incredible lack of knowledge, experience or background for the position. Stephen Harper has promised Parliamentary reform to give elected MPs real authority and free votes in Parliament on most bills and to downgrade the dictatorial power of the Prime Minister. One can only hope he gets a chance as one thing is certain Ñ Paul Martin and the Liberals will keep the patronage corrupt system we have now. Prime Minister MacKenzie King once said that, "every time he appoints a Senator he makes a hundred enemies and one ingrate." Paul Martin recently did the same by appointing several Canadian Senators to fill vacancies. As expected most were good Liberals, including a Manitoba fundraiser for the party and the mayor of Vancouver. A couple of surprises were Mulroney policy guy Hugh Segal who once ran for leadership of the PCs. His reasons for running was that he is smart, rich and from Ontario. His appointment has been praised by such as Roger Gibbins of the Canada West Foundation (Reminder August 8/5) but not by this writer. Segal, whose leadership challenge had few supporters, has not been heard from since. His appointment and that of former obscure PC Andree Champaign from Quebec will surely give a lot of credence to MacKenzie King's earlier remarks.
