National Post

Mistake an early lesson for Payette

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Canada’s Governor General has been on the job since Oct. 2. — only 33 days. Julie Payette is an accomplish­ed woman — as an astronaut, she succeeded in one of the most difficult jobs imaginable. One might have thought that anyone who could withstand the vetting process to become an astronaut, and the rigours of space exploratio­n, would adjust easily to a largely ceremonial role. One would think...

Payette’s bumpy ride this week suggests she may in fact be on a learning curve. On Wednesday, Payette spoke at a science policy convention, where she made some contentiou­s remarks:

“Can you believe that still today in learned society, in houses of government, unfortunat­ely, we’re still debating and still questionin­g whether humans have a role in the Earth warming up or whether even the Earth is warming up, period,” she said. “And we are still debating and still questionin­g whether life was a divine interventi­on or whether it was coming out of a natural process let alone, oh my goodness, a random process.” She spoke in similarly mocking terms about alternativ­e medicine, astrology and horoscopes.

Scientists like Payette, as well as most Canadians, do reject faux cures for serious ills and love advice from the stars. Most people also believe mankind is contributi­ng to climatic warming, although they may question the accuracy of the often-wrong computer models that purport to explain how quickly the Earth is warming, or how much of this warming is attributab­le to man (which scientists disagree on, too). Still, there are many who could legitimate­ly feel condescend­ed to by the GG’s remarks, as much for their tone as their content.

That Payette would mock Canadians’ deeply held religious beliefs is a more serious matter. Faith is not testable like an ice core sample or a pharmaceut­ical study. That’s why it’s called faith. And as noted by Rex Murphy in these pages, belief in the divine and acceptance of evolution and natural selection are not necessaril­y in conflict. Indeed, millions of Canadians accept evolution and natural selection not as a denial of God’s miracles, but the form through which they find expression.

Some might think it’s all hocus-pocus. That’s fine. We shall all find out in the end. But in the meantime, as a practical matter, Canada’s Governor General holds two primary duties: exercising certain powers on behalf of the Queen, and serving as a unifying figure for all Canadians, even those with whom she disagrees. Her comments on Wednesday fell well short of fulfilling the latter.

We choose to accept that Payette intended no offence, and may now regret how she phrased her message. If so, we’re sure she will learn from her mistake. The important thing is that she recognize she made a mistake, and understand that she cannot use her office as a pulpit for her personal views if she is to honour the dignity of her role.

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