Canada’s new Governor- General
Before the assembled eminences of Canada, gathered in Parliament’s Red Chamber, Michaëlle Jean, the 27th governorof Canada, yesterday delivered an installation speech rich both in historic allusion and current relevance. The speech will help address some of the reservations expressed by critics at the time of her appointment.
Ms. Jean began her speech correctly, in deference to the Queen, whose authority as head of state she will represent during the length of her service. She paid fitting tribute to the Queen as a “woman who is deeply concerned about the fate of humanity.” She also alluded to her duties as Commander-inChief by declaring an intention to place “special emphasis” on “the role of our veterans and our Canadian Forces, who have sacrificed so much.” These are welcome signals to those who value the traditions of the vice-regal office, and imply that Ms. Jean takes her allegiance, and her duties, seriously.
To those who suspect Ms. Jean of being a Quebec nationalist sympathizer, the Governor-General offered a greater, more generous vision of Canada: “ The time of the ‘ two solitudes’ that for too long described the character of this country is past ... We must eliminate the spectre of all the solitudes and promote the solidarity among all the citizens who make up the Canada of today.”
She also spoke admiringly of what she sees as the essence of Canada, a love of freedom, and expressed a certainty that “every Canadian woman, every Canadian man prizes that freedom and would defy anyone who tried to take it away.” This touches eloquently on a fundamental truth about Canada, its history and its role in the world today.
The speech was not without its flaws, however. Ms. Jean’s praise for Ontarians’ “impressive economic vitality,” situated as it was among a catalogue of otherwise soaring regional virtues, seemed banal and strained. More seriously, her reference to the images of the dispossessed in New Orleans — images that were, she said, “from the margins of an affluent society” — seemed a gratuitous reference to wealth inequality in America. Moreover, the implication that the suffering of Katrina’s primarily black victims might be set alongside genocide in Darfur or mass starvation in Niger borders on the absurd.
Out of place and out of date were the studiously correct feminist references, such as amending the words of the Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu to refer to the “duty of woman” then adding by way of explanation: “ We want recognition as full- fledged citizens in our own right.” An apt sentiment 30 years ago, no doubt. In the context of 2005, however, this infusion of gender politics was unnecessary: Canada’s head of state is a woman, two consecutive governors-general have been women, and the deputy governor-general — namely the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada — is also a woman. Surely there are greater injustices for Ms. Jean to concern herself.
These criticisms, however, do not lessen the impact of an installation speech that was, at its core, a poignant and welcome statement of purpose for Ms. Jean’s term, one which suggests she is sensitive to the traditions of her office. Ms. Jean strikes a youthful, vigorous, even charismatic figure. The most serious charge against the new Governorwas that she had separatist leanings. And in this speech, she has addressed that issue to our satisfaction. We suspect that, as they get to know Ms. Jean, Canadians will come to be grateful that she accepted the call of her Queen and country.