National Post (National Edition)
Gov. Gen. won’t preside over History Awards,
OTTAWA • In the latest in a series of departures from tradition, Governor General Julie Payette has given notice she isn’t planning to preside over the 2018 Governor General’s History Awards ceremony. It will be the first ceremony since the award’s creation in 1996 at which the Governor General will not be present.
The news comes as criticism mounts over Rideau Hall’s reduced workload under Payette, who took office nearly one year ago.
In an email sent on Sept. 24 and obtained by the National Post, Canada’s History Society informed recipients of this year’s award that it is trying to find alternate accommodations.
“We are working as quickly as possible to make appropriate arrangements for this year’s events,” the email said.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate a change of circumstance for this year’s Governor General’s History Awards presentation. The Office of the Governor General has informed Canada’s National History Society that Her Excellency is unable to preside over this year’s award ceremony and that Rideau Hall is unavailable.”
The message stressed that the history society, a national charitable organization based in Winnipeg, is working hard to ensure the ceremony is no less meaningful for the recipients.
“All other elements of the awards program in Ottawa will remain unchanged,” it said. “Canada’s History remains committed to celebrating your exceptional achievements and to making this a memorable experience for you and your families.”
It is at least the second award this year carrying the Governor General’s imprimatur that Payette will not be presenting. The award ceremony for the 2018 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture was instead hosted by Manitoba’s lieutenant-governor after the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada was informed Payette and Rideau Hall were unavailable. (This happened once before in 2006, when the ceremony was hosted by the lieutenantgovernor of Quebec.)
Since she was installed on Oct. 2, 2017, Payette — who as Governor General earns a salary of just under $300,000 — has placed the entire suite of Rideau Hall’s programming and patronages under review. Roughly a year later, the results of that review are still pending.
Although it is usual for a new Governor General to review programming and determine their own priorities when first entering office, the length of this review and the lack of communication from Rideau Hall has left many organizations in the dark, sources have told the National Post. Sources have also said Payette is much less inclined to do awards ceremonies than her predecessors have been, leaving many people wondering why she took a job with such heavy ceremonial responsibilities.
The Rideau Hall press office did not acknowledge emails and voice mails from the Post seeking comment for this story by the paper’s deadline Wednesday. In a response to questions for a previous Post story, spokesperson Marie-ève Létourneau addressed the comprehensive review of Governor General patronages that is underway.
“With close to 250 patronages, the institution undertook to review the program, align causes with the Canadian society of today, and bring it to proportions allowing the Governor General to make her engagements more meaningful,” the statement said.
The Governor General’s History Awards were created in 1996 by Gov.-gen. Romeo Leblanc, and honour Canadians for achievements in teaching, scholarly research, museums, community programming and popular media.
The ceremony has occasionally been held outside Rideau Hall, including once at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club during a civil service strike, but the sitting governor general still presided at those events. Payette presented the awards last year, on Nov. 22, 2017.
Janet Walker, president and CEO of the history society, said they are working with Rideau Hall to find a new venue and host, and said she is confident the ceremony will still be special for those receiving awards.
“We’re the administrators of the award, so we feel pretty dedicated to making sure that the recipients of these Governor General’s History Awards continue to be honoured well,” she said.
Walker said they were not given a specific reason why Payette was unable to do the ceremony this year, but said she has no reason to believe the relationship will substantially change going forward.
“It’s really early days, we think, for knowing the future of the award’s presentation,” she said.
Payette told CBC Sept. 4 that she highly values her role in distributing honours.
“What’s really important is to recognize when people do great things, or when people pursue an initiative or show enormous generosity or heart or bravery,” she said. “I feel very privileged, every single time a person comes at Rideau Hall or at Citadelle, our second official residence in Quebec City, to receive an honour, it’s not about the Governor General, it’s about them. And that is a really cool part of the job I must say.”