New Governor General

[bumffs]

Did anyone catch the reason why the new Governor General refused to swear the oath of office on the Bible ????
Is she a communist,muslim, or have alterior motive's.
As Canada's appointed representative to the Queen and commander in chief of what is left of Canada's miltary after all the cuts by the commies in Ottawa ,the last thing we need is a commie GG.
Another refugee that has turned their back on their own people and moved to a better country rather than stay and fight oppresion in their own country.
What use would someone like her be to Canada if we faced a similar problem she would just runaway again ???
Can they not find anyone loyal to this country in Ottawa that would do that job ????
My ancestors fought oppressors ,I do not know how anyone can be proud of running away from those that oppress your countrymen.
Cowards should not be in charge of an army.

[monkeyspankmasterflex]

You do know the GG is just a figure head. Control over the military is notional.

the last thing we need is a commie GG

I'd say we don't need a GG period. Her responsibities can be shared between the Deputy PM and the senior members of the Senate.

While were at it, let's grow up and move out of the house. Our Constitution, money, legislation etc., should all be 100% Canadian, no more ties to the crown. Of course we'd never be able to agree on who face to put on the money.

[Scuba_Steve]

whats the problem with not swearing on the bible? maybe she is not religious. I wouldn't swear on a bible if given the option not to, actually when I was sworn into the armed forces I elected not too. No big deal, doesn't mean shes a commie. You don't have to be religious or born in this country to be a canadian, I think thats our national identity these days, infact if you are from a nother country originally it seems you are MORe canadian. Or at least thats the popular theory

[Schooner69]

Bumffs: WTF, over? You note that the GG did not use the Bible when she was sworn into office and then segue into speculating that she might be a communist, a Muslim, has alterior (usually spelled "ulterior") motives, has run from oppression in her country, is disloyal, and, to top it all of, is a coward.

Did you ever hear of a solemn oath. Used in court, used to join the military, used in ....well, you get the picture.

If it makes you feel any better, I spent 25 years in the RCAF/CAF and I'm quite happy with her. Make you feel any better?

[bizjet_mania]

governor general... another waste of taxpayers money.

[CID]

The GG is a commie now? Man. You rednecks crack me up!

[bizjet_mania]

no way, canadian government is worse than communism. it works the same way. u work andu only take home enough to eat and vbarely pay rent the rest goes to the government, ive lived in a communist country, and i say canada is worse

[just another pilot]

Want some useless info? For every cent that gasoline goes up, the Feds collect $40 million. That was the GG expenses last year. I mean, you couls have six ad campaigns in Quebec alone...

[EI-EIO]

wow - some stunningly bad spelling to go with the stunningly bad analysis.

If Adrienne Clarkson did anything right as GG it was to look after the military and she got a ceremonial sendoff the other day from them, a first for a modern time GG.

Jean doesn't look a fool to me and I am sure she has taken note of her predecessor's record - you know, CBC foreigner who did commie things like spend Christmas in Afghanistan with the CF, a place where many of the posters above this would p!ss themselves if they had to spend five minutes. But what would I know - only a foreign type myself...

Oh, and for 48, on a scale from one to ten, I'd give her one

[Siddley Hawker]

Well, she surely does fill a lot of squares in the matrix. She's an immigrant, 'a person of colour', is fluently bilingual, of the female persuasion and she's from the CBC politically correct proving ground.
I can answer the question of why we need a GG with three words: President Jean Chretien.

God save the Queen and all who sail in her!

[Dust Devil]

I don't think she is a communist. I do however belive that she does not deserve the post. Figure head or not the Govenor General is still the top dog in our country and should be someone of a distinguished character and heavily experienced in diplomacy. Not to mention should be a hard line federalist. How about Mulroney?

LOL just jokin CID. I'm sorry.

Some say we should not have the GG. Some say the GG is a waste of tax dollars. There is alot more tax money being wasted in Ottawa. In comparison it makes the GG's office look cheap. Personally I like the idea of the monarchy. Do we need it? Probably not. We could obviously get by without it. Culturally I think it adds a certin something to our country. Lets take care of some of the billion dollar expenses first. Eventually we'll get to the GG's office.

Oh and this B.S tradition of appointing CBC personalities really needs to come to an end.

[mellow_pilot]

Sweet, I knew I took Canadian Politics for a reason. We covered the GG (among othre topics) tonight. Who would have thought university was so useful?

Here's why the position is necessary. Head of Government vs Head of State.
The PM is the head of government. GG is head of state and effectivly not part of the governing body. In theory he/she can veto bills, but by convention this is pretty much impossible, much like the Queen has no power. In the constitution is says plainly she has ultimate and unlimited power, but legally by convention (pressident) she has no real power.

Back to why GG is necessary. The GG has the power to dismiss Parliment, or to decide who has confidence of the house. ie. two parties have enough enough members to form a minority gov't, GG decides whose party is most likely to maintain an effective coalition. Basically the GG is cerimonial until something really unusual comes up.

Say Martin went insane, lost a confidence vote, then decided he didn't want to call an election and continued as PM. The GG can dismiss him as PM, and disolve parliment, triggering a vote.

Also, by separating heads of gov't and state, one can criticize the PM without criticizing the country. Unlike in the US where criticizing the President is "unamerican".

Sure the GG doesn't do much, but that just means that the position is keeping politicians in check and playing by the rules.

I'd say we don't need a GG period. Her responsibities can be shared between the Deputy PM and the senior members of the Senate.

While were at it, let's grow up and move out of the house. Our Constitution, money, legislation etc., should all be 100% Canadian, no more ties to the crown. Of course we'd never be able to agree on who face to put on the money.

The whole point of the GG is that there is a controling force outside the gov't. So deputy PM is a bad choice. And I believe if you check the back of your blue, purple, pink/red, and brown bills, the queen is not to be found.

[monkeyspankmasterflex]

Understand the theory behind the position, I'm just suggesting that Her PR duties could be carried out by the D PM, and the remainder be held by a senior senator. From my (albeit layman) point of view, senators are generally ppl who might have held the GG appointment anyway.

[Jet Dog]

well I'd post something, but everytime I post something political the whole tread, or post gets removed, so in short,.... gov't = bad, me no like

[EI-EIO]

In a parliamentary system you have to have a head of state to pick a PM, especially in minority situations. Ireland has a v similar system to Canada, no longer has a GG but does have a President. Cost: probably exactly the same.

Canada can even stay in the Commonwealth without a GG so we can still enter the C-wealth Games

Once Queen E dies I expect affection for the monarchy to dip so low it will be got rid of.

[water wings]

huh? how come this thread is still a go when the last thread about certain faiths required for a job was removed? did i miss all the good stuff? damn, sleep gets in the way of the full enjoyment of Avcanada yet again....

[Youngback]

Whats wrong with CBC people? I think Rick Mercer would make an excellent GG.

[EI-EIO]

what about Red Green?

[Blakey]

Say Martin went insane, lost a confidence vote, then decided he didn't want to call an election and continued as PM. The GG can dismiss him as PM, and disolve parliment, triggering a vote.

Mellow_pilot,

All that you say here is true, in theory. However, for the straight skinny on how the world really works, ask your instructor to speak to class on the "King - Bing" affair.

Here's a hint, King was the Prime Minister, Bing was the GG and Bing got spanked!

[Driving Rain]

British Columbia has in it's entire history has never produced a GG. In 5 years it's Pamela Anderson's turn. Sure, she'll have to renounce her recently acquired US citizenship, renouncing citizenship will be nothing new for the GG post by then.

I can see her now standing proudly at the swearing in, talking about TWO SOLID DUDES and all life in Canada is precious, animals and yes...even silcone based life forms.
This links her to Bill Clinton so she is sure to be a shoe in for the next GG

http://www.hartfelt.net/fun/gov/harass.html

[Siddley Hawker]

Every time I see Pamela Anderson, I feel like starting an organization called PETS, People for the Ethical Treatment of Silicone.

[Dust Devil]

DON'T TRASH PAM!!!!! I LOVE PAM!!!!!!!

[mellow_pilot]

Say Martin went insane, lost a confidence vote, then decided he didn't want to call an election and continued as PM. The GG can dismiss him as PM, and disolve parliment, triggering a vote.

Mellow_pilot,

All that you say here is true, in theory. However, for the straight skinny on how the world really works, ask your instructor to speak to class on the "King - Bing" affair.

Here's a hint, King was the Prime Minister, Bing was the GG and Bing got spanked!

We did actually talk about that. As I understand it, Bing didn't disolve parliment because it had been elected within 1 year of the no-confidence vote, so Bing went by the UK convention and aske the oppisition if they coud form a gov, the opp said yes. Bing got trashed in the anals of history for doing his job. But none the less, he still fulfilled the role, which kinda proves the positions worth, even if Bing wasn't popular.

Sort of relates back to the idea that if the GG POSITION is effective, the actual PERSON shouldn't be doing much.

Oh, and i'm all for the porn-star GG. I think porn-stars are under-represented in our current system.

[Nightshiftzombie]

Once Queen E dies I expect affection for the monarchy to dip so low it will be got rid of.

Yeah. We've had so much sucsess amending our constution. The UK would have an easier time getting rid of the monarchy than we would.

[monkeyspankmasterflex]

Ireland has a v similar system to Canada, no longer has a GG but does have a President. Cost: probably exactly the same.

Do you think he tours the Northern countries with Irish artisans (perhaps the Lord of the Danse folks) to promote northern culture? Marshmellowy delicious?