Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed former astronaut Julie Payette to be Canada’s next governor general. If you’ll pardon the pun, this was a stellar choice to be our Queen’s representative and head of government. Payette is almost universally admired. She speaks six languages. She’s an engineer, a musician, an Olympic flag-bearer, a pilot and a mother.
The appointment will no doubt provoke fresh debate about Canada’s role as a constitutional monarchy in the Commonwealth. On a base level, it’s tempting. Why should our destiny rest with a royal family in a far off country most of us may never even visit? And much of the governor general’s role is symbol and ceremony.
But we would argue the Westminster system of government and our connection to the Crown is a component of our strength as a people. It gives us deep roots to hold us firm when the winds blow and its traditions have been tested by time and endured.
And while much of a Queen’s representative’s role is symbolic, when the time comes, they wield practical power.
We in B.C. have the freshest reminder of this. Our May election produced a political stalemate and power struggle. Our lieutenant-governor, benefiting from the more than centuries of established tradition, was able to step in, fulfil her constitutional role and settle the dispute.
And you cannot put a value on the peaceful transference of power. The citizens of too many countries are denied it and suffer greatly.
We could not ask for a better person to bring us closer and reinforce our relationship with the Crown. We say God save the Queen – and the governor general.
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