Julie Payette needs to step up in GG job

Julie Payette’s first year as Canada’s 29th Governor General is ending not with a bang but a whimper.

Rather than enthusiastic celebrations, the Oct. 2 anniversary of her being sworn in to the job will be met with doubts and tough questions.

Is she performing all the duties of a position that, while mainly ceremonial, is a cornerstone of our constitutional democracy?

Does she truly understand the obligations of her position — and why she must fulfil them? Does she even want to be the Queen’s representative in Canada?

Compared with the ambitious schedules of her two immediate predecessors, Michaëlle Jean and David Johnston, Payette seems almost a part-timer. She’s attended far fewer events, given far fewer speeches and proven far less likely to travel the country than either of them.

Contrary to the practice of many previous governors general, who chose to visit every province and territory in their first year in office, Payette has yet to appear in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or the Yukon.

Her absence from Humboldt, Sask., — where 16 people died and 13 were injured when their hockey team’s bus collided with a truck — was especially glaring. A humanitarian gesture was called for and she failed to make it.

Meanwhile, many organizations that long counted on the Governor General as a partner or patron are wondering where they stand with Payette. She would not preside over presentations of the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards to young people or present the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture.

Neither Scouts Canada nor St. John Ambulance knows if she will continue to work with them. And unlike recent governors general, she didn’t even accept daffodils from cancer patients during the Canadian Cancer Society’s Daffodil Month.

Payette may consider the expectations for a governor general to be unreasonable. She may chafe at the customs and traditions that are part of the job and judge as them too antiquated or irrelevant in today’s world. But whatever her frustrations, surely she realizes it’s not all about her; she serves a monarch — and even more to the point, the Canadian people.

This matters greatly because along with inspecting the troops, cutting ribbons and making speeches, the governor general holds residual powers that can determine the fate of this nation.

Remember how in 2008, then-governor general Jean allowed Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government to remain in power even when the opposition parties were intent on ousting it with a non-confidence vote? That single decision changed the course of Canadian history.

With the next federal election a year away and a hung parliament always possible, Payette’s understanding of her job could be crucial after Canadians vote because it could decide who forms the next government.

If she can’t be counted on to live up to the ceremonial part of her office, will she wield her constitutional powers more ably?

No one can doubt Payette’s keen intellect or stellar accomplishments. She excelled as an astronaut, engineer, scientific broadcaster and corporate director. Younger than most past governors general — she’s 54 — and fluent in both official languages, she seemed perfect for the job. She still could be, too.

David Johnston made his mark engaging Canadians in charitable and volunteer activities. Could Payette bring the same enthusiasm to promoting science and scientific education across the land?

Given that a governor general’s term of office is usually five years, Payette has time to make a positive mark. Let’s hope some advice from her staff or even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau helps her find her way.