Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed former astronaut Julie Payette to be Canada’s next Governor General.
Pardon the pun but 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 job is ceremonial.
But when the time comes, they wield practical power.
We in B.C. have the freshest reminder of this as our lieutenant-governor, benefiting from centuries of tradition, was able to fulfil her constitutional role and ensure a government for this province.
You cannot put a value on the peaceful transference of power. The citizens of too many countries are denied it and suffer greatly.
