NationStates Jolt Archive

Michaëlle Jean will be our next Gov. General. She is the first black, the first Haitian-born immigrant, and the first decendent of slaves to become Canada's Governor General. I think she is the right women for the right job to represent what we are as Canadians.

What do u think?

She seems like a pretty kick-ass lady. I'm really happy about her appointment.

The Canadian Governor-General-designate is rather good-looking. She might well win a beauty contest among the heads of state... if she qualifies as a head of state, that is. :)

Michaëlle Jean will be our next Gov. General. She is the first black, the first Haitian-born immigrant, and the first decendent of slaves to become Canada's Governor General. I think she is the right women for the right job to represent what we are as Canadians.

What do u think?

So basically she's qualified because she's black and it's the PC thing to do?

I'm sure she's a good choice, but what are her merits?

I'm from America and therfore (sadly) have no idea how any other countries government works. Is the Governer General the head of the government? Please excuse my ignorance.

Michaëlle Jean will be our next Gov. General. She is the first black, the first Haitian-born immigrant, and the first decendent of slaves to become Canada's Governor General. I think she is the right women for the right job to represent what we are as Canadians.

What do u think?

About all I've heard about her is that she's Black, Haitian born, currently resides in Quebec and formerly worked for the CBC. I would have hoped that our government would look at less esthetic credentials when choosing who to appoint, but whatever. It's not like the GG is a very important position anyway.

I'm from America and therfore (sadly) have no idea how any other countries government works. Is the Governer General the head of the government? Please excuse my ignorance.
The Governor-General is a representative of the Crown in a Commonwealth Realm; de facto a ceremonial head of state.

It's not like the GG is a very important position anyway.
What does the GG do?

I'm from America and therfore (sadly) have no idea how any other countries government works. Is the Governer General the head of the government? Please excuse my ignorance.

good question.

The Queen is actually our head of state (and so is Britain, Australia, etc), our Gov. General represents the Queen. Therefore the Gov. General is the de-facto head of state of Canada.

The Governor-General is a representative of the Crown in a Commonwealth Realm; de facto a ceremonial head of state.
Ah, thank you. Who would be the head of government? Or is it most ruled by a parliment? I.E. Does that GG have much actual power?

I'm from America and therfore (sadly) have no idea how any other countries government works. Is the Governer General the head of the government? Please excuse my ignorance.

Excellent question Callery. The GG is the Queen of England's representative in Canada. No kidding. The GG is not a figurehead; she's a representative of a figurehead. Be sure to mention this next time some Canadian tries to tell you how stupid American politics is.

Ah, thank you. Who would be the head of government? Or is it most ruled by a parliment?
The Prime Minister heads the Government... basically just like in the UK, only the Governor-General in place of the Queen and the Senate in place of all those Lords. :)

Thanks for explaining that for me. I really wish that schools would teach us even the basic structure of other nations government so I don't have to end posts with "please exucuse my ignorance"

good question.

The Queen is actually our head of state (and so is Britain, Australia, etc), our Gov. General represents the Queen. Therefore the Gov. General is the de-facto head of state of Canada.
The Queen is technically your Sovereign, I think... so, strictly speaking, neither the UK nor Canada has the head of state. :confused:

Ah, thank you. Who would be the head of government? Or is it most ruled by a parliment? I.E. Does that GG have much actual power?

not much.

here's the link about Canadian Gov. Generals:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/governorgeneral/

and

http://www.gg.ca/

The Queen is technically your Sovereign, I think... so, strictly speaking, neither the UK nor Canada have the head of state. :confused:
according to the CIA World Factbook 2005....
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Adrienne CLARKSON (since 7 October 1999)

Ur right that the Queen is our sovereign but she is also our head of state.
The GG is the "de-facto" head of state because she represents the Queen and does pretty much the same thing the Queen does (such as reading the speech from the throne, signing bills into law - the royal assent, dissolves parliament, etc).

Thanks for explaining that for me. I really wish that schools would teach us even the basic structure of other nations government so I don't have to end posts with "please exucuse my ignorance"
If you’re curious, look it up yourself, like I do. Unless, I’m feeling lazy…

according to the CIA World Factbook 2005....
They have to put someone there, haven't they? :)

Ur right that the Queen is our sovereign but she is also our head of state.
...
This is the current understanding, I won't argue with that. It can be inferred, though, that if the Queen is the head of the sovereign country, she is the head of herself.

i dont think we should have a GG, its a waste of money. The idea of monarchy is a discriminative and why the hell are we endorsing such a thing and have a representative of a queen, who was only a queen because she happens to be born in a "royal family." why dont we spend the money on feeding starving people who rely on food bank?

as a canadian, i am offended.

"Prince" William and harry are hot, but they are just some white dudes.
we dont need king and queen, we need social justice and equality!

i dont think we should have a GG, its a waste of money. The idea of monarchy is a discriminative and why the hell are we endorsing such a thing and have a representative of a queen, who was only a queen because she happens to be born in a "royal family." why dont we spend the money on feeding starving people who rely on food bank?
Had Russia adopted something resembling the Westminster system in the 1900s, we probably would have been much better off in the Twentieth Century...

Seriously, why having a hereditary figurehead on top of the ladder is bad?

Do you think that the republic doesn't require money for its 'upkeep'?

Had Russia adopted something resembling the Westminster system in the 1900s, we probably would have been much better off in the Twentieth Century...

Seriously, why having a hereditary figurehead on top of the ladder is bad?

Do you think that the republic doesn't require money for its 'upkeep'?


hum why the hell should taxpayers support people because they were born in a certain family? its not democratic and its elitism at its worse. If everyone can take turn to be part of the royal family than okay. lol. But i refuse to call anyone my King or My Queen. The head of the state in Canada is the Prime minister, whom the people elected...

I dont care what the law says. I dont acknowldge the GG.

hum why the hell should taxpayers support people because they were born in a certain family? its not democratic and its elitism at its worse.
So what? Do you want to have an elected ceremonial president? In theory everyone can be a republican figurehead, but it is almost always someone from a narrow circle of ruling party politicians nearing retirement--elitism at its best, I think! :)

If everyone can take turn to be part of the royal family than okay. lol.
Everyone can marry into the Royal Family, I s'pose... ;)

Everyone can marry into the Royal Family, I s'pose... ;)


doubt it..haha.
imagine having a black queen or something.

doubt it..haha.
imagine having a black queen or something.
That will be something! :)

God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God Save the Queen.

Bring her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God Save the Queen!

... just flying the flag for all us monarchists down under!

Anyone can sort of marry into the royal family these days - depends usually on who you are (e.g. family heritage) and if you have lots of money and are in the right circle of friends (in the UK anyway).

However, look at Denmark! Prince Frederik married Princess Mary last year, just an ordinary person he met out of the blue in a bar in Tasmania!

In reply to the "oh it costs so much money to have a royal family" and "why should the taxpayers have to pay", all of the members of the Royal Family have to pay taxes just like everyone else (including the Queen), and do a lot of hard and helpful work (charitable, international relations etc.). In fact, recently a study found that it costs less than 1 Pound a year per taxpayer to support the entire Royal Family.

The Queen/King also acts to provide a figurehead to unite the country, someone who is impartial, has the power to step in and challenge the government if they get out of control, and someone that the people trust (just look at the role people like King George VI played in the war). In that way I suppose she is sort of like the President in the US. Prime Ministers come and go, and exist to fulfill political agendas: is the prime minister someone who you really look up to, respect and trust always?

[QUOTE=Londingshire Islands]God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God Save the Queen.

Bring her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God Save the Queen!

... just flying the flag for all us monarchists down under!

Anyone can sort of marry into the royal family these days - depends usually on who you are (e.g. family heritage) and if you have lots of money and are in the right circle of friends (in the UK anyway).

However, look at Denmark! Prince Frederik married Princess Mary last year, just an ordinary person he met out of the blue in a bar in Tasmania!

In reply to the "oh it costs so much money to have a royal family" and "why should the taxpayers have to pay", all of the members of the Royal Family have to pay taxes just like everyone else (including the Queen), and do a lot of hard and helpful work (charitable, international relations etc.). In fact, recently a study found that it costs less than 1 Pound a year per taxpayer to support the entire Royal Family.



OH hard work huh? I love to do the hard tasks of attending charitable events and shaking hands.

Seriously..i will quit my job right now if someone would let me do these hard ceremonial work.
The royal family will not marry poor people, thats the thing.
It doesnt matter how you cut it, its discriminative, its outdated and it should be gone. Anyone who supports democracy and eqaulity should support the abolishment of monarchy.
The establishment of monarchy is something that doesnt fit in the democratic system.
thats why the monarchy predated the english revolution..

...
It doesnt matter how you cut it, its discriminative, its outdated and it should be gone. Anyone who supports democracy and eqaulity should support the abolishment of monarchy.
Then I'm against democracy and equality. The Westminster system in Russia could have saved millions of lives. But we got a 'democratic' and 'equal' government instead...

thats why the monarchy predated the english revolution..
Oliver Cromwell was one great democrat.

She has offical duties that is basically a messagenger and mouth peice.

But the job is holding some perks 41 mil budget!!!!!!

I.E. Does that GG have much actual power?

Most of the powers are largely ceremonial (Speech from the throne, royal assent for laws, etc.) but her powers do become more important in a constitutional crisis, if the government is at risk of falling, etc.

hum why the hell should taxpayers support people because they were born in a certain family? its not democratic and its elitism at its worse. If everyone can take turn to be part of the royal family than okay. lol. But i refuse to call anyone my King or My Queen. The head of the state in Canada is the Prime minister, whom the people elected...

I dont care what the law says. I dont acknowldge the GG.

You seem to be confusing the role played by the Queen and that played by the GG. First of all, I'm not sure how any taxpayer's money is going to the Queen. The GG has a substantial budget, but the GG is appointed by the PM (well, by the Queen on the advice of the PM, but the real decision-making power lies with the PM), so it is no way hereditary.

I'm from America and therfore (sadly) have no idea how any other countries government works. Is the Governer General the head of the government? Please excuse my ignorance.Its a totally useless post...a white elefante...wasting mucho dinero $$$..some 40 million dolares

Other than that...the person elected this time is a darling of the Quebecois...So maybe this time they wont cry murder...

or maybe theill do it my way...and say:
"Yes she is Magnifique (magnificent)...but the PM is still un idiot and should stop funding this stupidite"

hehe...I love mixing languages

So basically she's qualified because she's black and it's the PC thing to do?

I'm sure she's a good choice, but what are her merits?

Because she is certainly the best person for the job. I have been following the issue very closely between all the expected choices and she was completely out of left field and superior to all. A home-run political decision for the government.

Merits: Is an extremely respected and award winning journalist recognizable to many Canadians. Is a brilliant intellectual who speaks FIVE languages. Overcame a childhood of challenges to rise to a position of great ability. A longtime activist for various causes.

I am all for the removal of this archaic office but as far as filling the position it was done to perfection. Canadians overwhelmingly approve of the choice.

And yes she is a young beautiful Quebecois immigrant woman which just highlights her achievements but are far from the source of them. A very progressive choice.

I, for one, am NOT infavour of the removal of the GG as an 'archaic' role in Canadian politic. The GG plays a VERY valuable role as Canadian representative, international diplomat, and business liason in ways that our illustrious Prime Ministers cannot. The GG is not DIRECTLY involved in Canadian policy making, and can therefore represent Canada without the stigma of political agenda trailing after her entourage, while promoting Canada as an excellent place to do international business. 'sides, the NEW one has a track record of telling people EXACTLY what she thinks, smiling all the while. I love it.

and BTW: hats off to Callery for 'looking outside the box' to get a glimpse of what's going on in other parts of the world.

So basically she's qualified because she's black and it's the PC thing to do?

I'm sure she's a good choice, but what are her merits?

Because the position of GG is largely ceremonial, there are no specific qualifications that are required for the position. However, because the position involves representing the Canadian government at various functions at home and abroad, it helps if you are personable, which she is. Other than that, it is hard to define the qualities that make a good GG. It helps that she speaks five languages fluently. She also has an interesting life story, which is broadly representative of an important part of the Canadian experience (i.e. first generation immigrants). Lastly, the fact that she is representative of groups that are typically underrepresented in our elected government (women, black people) is a bonus too. It remains to see if she will deliver on the promise she shows.

Personally I think Romeo Dallaire should have been picked for Canada's new Governor General. He would have been picked for what he has done, not because of where he is from, the colour of his skin, or his sex. I'm sure she is a nice woman, but knowing Martin, she was picked purely because she is black, from Quebec, and an immigrant. The fact that she was a journalist for the CBC means nothing to me, Romeo Dallaire served his country and the whole world unlike the right unhonourable Martin's pick. I know that Romeo Dallaire is currently a Senator and working on helping Sudan, but he still would have made a better choice.