Next GG unlikely to be indigenous

David Johnston’s address to the crowd during the Canada Day noon show will likely be his last major national event.

After seven years pushing a message of inclusiveness and constant improvement, His Excellency will walk into history this fall as one of the country’s most able and beloved governors general.

The identity of his successor remains a closely guarded secret but it is understood the person has already been chosen and that their identity will be revealed later in July — weeks ahead of the original schedule. The matter is likely to be raised when the Prime Minister meets the Queen in Edinburgh next week, ahead of the G20 summit in Germany.

This time there was no vice-regal advisory committee like the non-partisan group that recommended Johnston to Stephen Harper. Justin Trudeau will take his own counsel on the appointment.

When asked about it last year, Trudeau raised expectations the monarch’s next representative might be indigenous.

“When it comes to a choice about who will fill (Johnston’s) big shoes, I can assure you I will take into account the nature of Canada and the desire of Canadians to see institutions and appointments across the government that reflect the diversity of Canada,” he told CBC.

Choosing an indigenous governor general would be a sign the Liberals are committed to more than just gesture politics, advocates say — “an opportunity to make a powerful statement and keep the reconciliation process moving forward,” said Roberta Jamieson, CEO of Indspire, the indigenous education charity.

Jamieson would have been an ideal candidate — Canada’s first female indigenous lawyer, the first indigenous woman to be ombudsman of Ontario and a recipient of the Order of Canada who holds 25 honorary degrees.

But sources suggest that the new governor general will not be indigenous after all — because a candidate emerged who was “too spectacular to say no to.”

The convention has been to alternate anglophones and francophones. The belief however is the new governor general need not be francophone this time, but must have flawless French.

When CBC asked last year for suggestions for a new governor general, Chris Hadfield emerged as a popular choice. The retired astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station would tick a lot of boxes — he speaks good French, lives in Canada and is currently on a Canada 150 speaking tour aimed at inspiring youth to “individual betterment and action.” He could not be reached for comment this week.

The choice of an anglo, even one who speaks decent French, will provoke some grumbling in Quebec. But it is the decision to overlook indigenous candidates that may provoke most comment.

There is no shortage of qualified contenders. Murray Sinclair, former chair of the residential schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Mary Simon, a former diplomat from Nunavik, Que., who has recently been a ministerial special representative on Arctic issues, are both eminently qualified.

As Jamieson said in a speech she gave on Canada’s sesquicentennial, the next 150 years don’t have to carry the burden of the country’s evolution — the division between the colonizers and the colonized. “Maybe, just maybe, reconciliation between Canadians at large and indigenous peoples can happen in our lifetime.”

She said her main fear is that reconciliation becomes a hollow word.

“We need an indigenous governor general,” she said. “We need an indigenous Supreme Court justice and indigenous people in all kinds of real leadership roles. That’s very real institutional change.”

A brighter future becomes possible when young indigenous people realize they are part of a society that offers them a strong, affirming sense of their identity, she said.

The Liberal government is leaving itself open to the charge of rank hypocrisy: that it talks a good game on reconciliation but when key appointments are made — governors general, Supreme Court justices — other priorities take precedence.

The gradual progress of its broader mission — to deliver change such as new schools and cleaner water to indigenous communities through the existing delivery system of the Indigenous and Northern Affairs department — is not winning rave reviews from indigenous advocates or the media. Major structural changes appear to be imminent on the file.

That will require yet more promises of a better Canada to come for indigenous peoples. They can hardly be blamed if they are skeptical next time around, having had hopes dashed time and again.

Chris Hadfield may prove a “spectacular” choice but he does not reflect diversity or offer indigenous Canadians the same sense of validation that a Jamieson would have provided.

Whoever is chosen, they have a hard act to follow when it comes to native issues. Johnston has prided himself on creating an environment where reconciliation is possible by constantly urging Canadians to do better. He will be missed.

David Johnston