City
Governor General - Why?
![gg_jean3_8532990[1].jpg](http://www.blogto.com/archives/gg_jean3_8532990%5B1%5D.jpg)
So we have a new one, but why?
I am not going to waste my time here venting my moderate disapproval of the fact that our new Commander in Chief and Head of State had a dual citizenship until 2 days ago, may have been an advocate for a separate Quebec and a broken Canada, or the fact that she conveniently happens to be a Quebecor, coincidentally the Province where the Liberals are in so much hot water.
Instead I'm going to focus on...
Why do we have the Governor General at all?
25 Governor Generals and counting - and millions of dollars worth of travel, wine and dining. Is this really great use of our resources? I understand the value of tradition, but as a product of a generation that has become increasingly disconnected from our Monarchical ties, the more and more I believe that the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament could just as easily be doing the same job.
All this seems to me is be a very plush political appointment that does not do anything to serve Canadians. I would much rather see our head of state and head of government be consolidated in a single position. What reason do we have to continue to be a part of the Commonwealth?
I would be interested to hear your views.
Discussion
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Which of the points raised do you seem to have issue with?
I raised issues with the usefullness of the governor general, which, in fact is discussed in ALMOST EVERY SINGLE Canadian Political Science textbooks used by Canadian Universities probably in the last 20 years.
Are you suggesting that the Toronto Sun and Canadian Professors are in partnership to continue to advocate these erroneous and utter "slush" views?
The reservations I have with the appointment of the GG are my views - and if they resemble views expressed in other media, then it is strictly by coincidence.
If my views happen to be similar to one publication or another - and you choose to automatically stereotype that view, and the person who is expressing that view, then so be it.
my view? Keep the shallow political arguments off of BlogTO.
I enjoy this blog very much, but Federal political debates don't belong on it in my books. You guys do a great job of covering city issues, events, social life, etc... but this just clouds otherwise good content.
Why not an article about how horrible CityTV's reporting is? Or, maybe if you'd like to write about politics, a story on how city construction projects can only use union labour, wasting tens of millions of dollars IN THE CITY.
Thanks for the feedback. I will talk about a variety of issues, some may or may not be of interest to everyone.
That being said, the GG being appointed this week was BIG NEWS for all Canadians. (Including Torontonians) I think it was just too big to completely overlook.
I would like to add that I think your ideas regarding City TV and Union Labour are fantastic - I will for sure get to those at some point.
Thanks again - hope you keep reading - and find some stuff that is more relevant for you!
1) It keeps Martin or whoever free to run Parliament instead of entertaining dignitaries and representing Canada at national and international events and ceremonies.
2) It keeps the pointless partisan bickering from affecting our representation in the above.
3) It ensures, as Michael noted, continuity during a minority government when parliament is shaky and someone "objective" is needed to ensure that shady things do not go down.
4) In the last two appointments, it's been away to inject a little class, a little style, and a little more diverse representation into a staid government filled with, in John Ibbitson's words, a bunch of grey-haired old men.
Personally, I would love to see us retain the GG but break with England's monarchy--why can't Ms Jean be our Head of State, period? I don't feel the need to kowtow to the Queen and her dysfunctional brood, but I do think a ceremonial head of state is necessary for Canada's future.
His arguments are more about inherited titles, but clearly the GG post and Canada's relationship with the English monarchy are part of the same habit.
Do we need them? I guess we have to figure out what they do and who would do the jobs instead. Is it just a high profile job? Does it matter that they're not elected as long as someone with sense gets to fill the position?
We don't elect every government position, and we already know that even our elected officials spend more money than breath in a somewhat dubious fashion.
Is the GG just there to spend cash? Does she do a real job for real money? Do we need to elect someone to do what she does, or can we trust someone to do the hiring?
Plus this is not blogCanada so the event was something that should not have been mentioned here from the beginning. The excuse that it was an important Canadian event (and I even would doubt that is was important...) so it affected Torontonians is a lousy excuse. Just read the about section of the blog:
"blogTO is a blog about Toronto. We cover music, film, the arts, bars, restaurants, people, places and an assortment of random but hopefully interesting things happening in the city we call TO. This is a blog. We invite you to post comments, disagree with us, flatter us and otherwise tell us what you think."
does TO have a GG equivalent?
Otherwise, I totally agree with miranda.