Instead of bromides about a winning international effort wrestling terrorism to the ground, she artfully and apparently intentionally created the preconditions for a fundamentally disturbing conversation about the obstacles blocking the road between war and peace, destruction and reconstruction.
Fascinating enough on its own, the table talk was nicely spiced by suspicions the dinner was just slightly rogue. Why? Well, that warrants a short detour away from Afghanistan and up and down the capital's pecking order.
Remarkable as it seems for a country at war, politics, prestige and protocol weren't far in the background last week.
In a move widely seen as hogging the spotlight by letting the two leaders wave the flag by inspecting the troops, Harper effectively nudged the Governor General aside in declaring the visit "working" rather than "official." Whether it was payback or serendipitous happenstance, an administration with only a "correct" and unusually distant relationship with the Governor General then found itself so far out of her loop that the senior official, foreign affairs department deputy minister Peter Harder, was added to the guest list at government insistence as a last-minute substitute for his minister, Peter MacKay.
http://tinyurl.com/ftk87
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on October 2, 2006]
Note: http://tinyurl.com/ftk87
Mixed Messages: A Rare Challenge From Canada's Governor-General
Posted on Sunday, October 01 at 08:50 by BC MaryContributed By
Topic
Article Rating
(0 votes)
Options
Stumble It!Comments
view comments in forum
Page 1
To dissolve parlament, should it become nessecary.
To focus the military's allegiance on The Crown (the representation of our laws and Constitution) rather than one person or political office.
To be non-political, incorruptable and to act in the interests of the people of Canada.
As in the article:
"In putting those issues prominently on the table, the Governor General, either wittingly or more simply out of concern for the safety of her troops, contributes to two Harper problems. She fans smouldering dissent about a war that can't be won under existing conditions with current tactics. More subtly, it reminds the Prime Minister that a Governor General he hasn't sat down with privately since March is also a commander-in-chief with an intensely personal interest in a politically sensitive conflict."
So she does what no one else in Government is ethier willing or obligated to do. I take it you think she's wasting her efforts?
---
"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden
Mike
Winnipeg
---
Dear Abby, Dear Abby my fountain pen leaks, my wife hollers at me and the kids are all freaks
To dissolve parlament, should it become nessecary."
A little help here please!
On the face of it the above claims seem so gosh darned civilised. What evidence exists of these sane looks and dissolutions of parliament?
---
Diogenes said:
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."
<p>---<br>"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden<br />
The royals have always irked me because of their passivity.
But Michaelle Jean has done the unimaginable: quietly making people
talk face to face, about the big issue of Canadian soldiers being pushed
into a hopeless battle zone.
Interesting change, eh?
Maybe that makes naturalized immigrants "better citizens".
---
When you are up to your ass in alligators it is difficult to remember that the initial objective was to drain the swamp
Has any GG disolved parliment after as sane last view of legislation?
the GST so called free trade agreement comes to mind.
The way I read it, the GG has the power to override unpopular legislation.
if that is NOT the case SphinxMontreal’s question has not been answered?
The GG person is the representative of the Queen, not of the people, so who’s interests are being looked after?
---
Diogenes said:
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."
"Has any GG disolved parliment after as sane last view of legislation? the GST so called free trade agreement comes to mind."
No, no GG has ever dissolved Parlament, but it is the GG's right to do so. One GG did *not* dissolve Parlament when requested by a PM.
"The way I read it, the GG has the power to override unpopular legislation.
if that is NOT the case SphinxMontreal’s question has not been answered?"
No, his question was what it the purpose of a GG. The GG is the head of State, the PM is the head of Government. There is a reason why we seperate those in a Parlamentary system. The answer to 'why' those are seperate is the answer to his question. My answer was a brief overview of the answer to his question.
I don't believe the GG can 'repeal' legislation, only not give it royal ascent. As the GG is not elected, popularity does not come in to it. IIRC the GG did not give royal ascent to one of Pearson's tax hikes, which turned out to be a good decision for Canada and Canadians.
"The GG person is the representative of the Queen, not of the people, so who’s interests are being looked after?"
As I said, The Crown; The Constitution of Canada and the laws of Canada. People who don't know what the GG does always relate the answer to that question; 'The Crown' to mean 'The Queen'. The Monarch of England is a person. 'The Crown' is not.
---
"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden