The disgraced tenure of former Canadian governor general Julie Payette, who resigned in shame on Thursday rather than endure yet another exposé of her reportedly vicious workplace behavior. The governor generalship, Canada’s “ceremonial chief of state,” is a ludicrous and embarrassing office at the best of times, so Payette’s humiliating departure marks a particularly pathetic nadir. If there ever was a moment crying for a substantial reevaluation of the necessity of the office — a moment of reflection that would hopefully conclude with a recommendation for abolishment — it is now. Instead, one expects Prime Minister Trudeau to attempt to repair the job’s non-existent reputation by picking a successor to Payette rich in the sort of politically-correct symbolism upon which he’s built his brand. In classically Canadian fashion, the belief that fundamentally broken institutions are just one good appointment, one sensible procedural tweak away, will win the day once more.
Payette, a former astronaut from Quebec, was appointed governor general in 2017 in part because Ottawa has invented a tradition where every second governor general must be French-Canadian. Subsequent reporting has revealed that her installation was likely rushed, which is probably why the hiring process failed to pick up any of the apparently ample evidence from former coworkers that Payette was trouble. “Everything sounded extremely familiar,” said one former colleague of stories that Payette routinely verbally abused her underlings.
I belief this will result in Canada having a proxy head of state who is also head of government. I would have thought that the experience south of the border in the last four years might caution against such a change. Although HM Elizabeth may appear to do little or even nothing, all her British premiers have expressed their appreciation of her constitutional role and work. I am curious to see what they plan to replace her position with as well.