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NP View: It's time for a new kind of Governor General

Military leaders know what it is to serve the Crown, not politics

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In a speech in May 1955, Vincent Massey, the first Canadian-born governor general (1952-1959), said true toleration was a “forbearance towards something that you do not like, or even that you disapprove of, in the interests of a greater common good.” He praised the parliamentary system as an example where speech was often frank and unpalatable, but tolerated.

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And he then added, “It is the genius of our constitution that the Crown, at its apex, stands for permanence and harmony in order that conflict of opinion in pursuit of truth may be untrammelled.”

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Massey was a businessman, philanthropist, diplomat, promotor of the arts and education, who was fluently bilingual and who visited every region in Canada, sometimes using canoe or dog team to get there. He understood that the Crown, which he represented, wasn’t an irrelevant symbol, that it had meaning, that it represented more than history and tradition, that it was imbued with duty and service and virtue.

When his successor, Georges Vanier, took the oath of office his first words were a prayer. “May almighty God in His infinite wisdom and mercy bless the sacred mission which has been entrusted to me by Her Majesty the Queen and help me to fulfill it in all humility.”

Vanier, like Massey, exemplified a life of service. In the First World War he was a soldier with the legendary Van Doos, the 22nd Regiment, and later became their commander. He was wounded in the war, lost a leg, but refused to return home. Fluently bilingual, he later became a diplomat and was vocal in his efforts to get Canada to adopt a more humane immigration policy. He was appointed governor general at the age of 71.

In his last speech, Vanier returned to one of his primary themes, unity: “Canada owes it to the world to remain united, for no lesson is more badly needed than the one our unity can supply: the lesson that diversity need not be the cause for conflict, but, on the contrary, may lead to richer and nobler living. I pray to God that we go forward hand in hand. We can’t run the risk of this great country falling into pieces.”

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It would be easy to dismiss Massey and Vanier as men from a bygone era, but that would be to neglect the larger lesson, that those who are appointed to the role of governor general carry a burden by representing the Crown and all that it personifies.

On such matters, the view of Walter Bagehot, a 19th century political analyst and economist, are as pertinent today as when he wrote them in 1867 in an essay, The English Constitution. The Crown represented the “dignified” part of the constitution which excites and preserves “the reverence of the population.” Parliament was the “efficient” part which did the work.

The governor general, then, must do the dignified work.

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To this end, it would help if the office were not used to reward politicians or friends and if appointees could bring to it something other than a work resume.

Appointing partisans, such as Jeanne Sauvé, a former Liberal MP and Speaker of the House, who was nominated for the role by Pierre Trudeau in 1984, or her successor, Ray Hnatyshyn, a former Progressive Conservative who was nominated for the role by Brian Mulroney, belittles the office.

Bagehot believed that the dignified part of the constitution should be separate from the efficient part. The same should hold true for the office of the governor general.

Meanwhile, Adrienne Clarkson (1999-2005) and Michaëlle Jean (2005-2010) both had respectable careers in journalism, but that hardly makes them ideal candidates as the monarchy’s representative.

David Johnston (2010-2017), a law professor and academic, had the benefit of constitutional knowledge and it was only after his tenure ended that he misguidedly accepted the position of special rapporteur on foreign interference along with its political ramifications.

The incumbent, Mary Simon, whose term is ending soon, lacks one vital criterion for the role, namely bilingualism in French and English. It is commendable that she is fluent in Inuktitut, but that is not, to date, one of Canada’s official languages.

So from what well can we draw the best people to fill the role of Canada’s next governor general?

We need look no further than a profession whose ethical principles are defined as: respecting the dignity of all persons, serving Canada before self, and with a duty to serve lawful authority. These principles, defined in The Canadian Armed Forces Ethos: Trusted to Serve manifesto, are also accompanied by virtues which include integrity, loyalty, courage and excellence.

Among some of the names that would qualify would be: Rick Hillier, former Chief of the Defence Staff, Mark Norman, ex-Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, and would not preclude Chris Hadfield, a Canadian Armed Forces colonel who began his career as a jet fighter pilot before becoming an astronaut. The current Chief of the Defence Staff Jennie Carignan would also fit.

Individuals such as these know how to fill a role that involves being inspirational when needed and invisible when required. They have already sworn an oath of allegiance to serve the Crown and Canada. And they know what it is to sacrifice self for others.

Politicians may squabble among themselves and citizens be silenced by the everyday noise and chaos that surrounds them. But the Governor General speaks for the Crown, and thus for permanence and harmony, as Massey noted.

It is time to dismiss politics, patronage and partisanship from the office of the governor general and return it to its more noble roots, to a person willing to serve the greater good, represent the Crown and all it stands for, and who is grounded in the virtues of duty and service.

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