FALLEN STAR

First, do no harm. The physicians' creed could equally apply to federal appointments. Which brings us to the habit among recent prime ministers of appointing governors general based on celebrity rather than suitability.

You might argue that's a step forward from the days of purely patronage appointments. After all, Adrienne Clarkson has warmth, wit and charisma, and these traits served her well as governor general. But her appointment was mostly a sort of intellectual fashion statement by the Chretien government: a famous woman, born in Hong Kong, whose husband was an admired public intellectual.

Clarkson was succeeded by the Martin government's equally dynamic Michaelle Jean, a Haitian-born, top francophone broadcaster, married to a famous filmmaker — and a Quebecker to boot. Even if these charismatic women weren't constitutional brainiacs, at least they brought humanity to Rideau Hall. Meanwhile, Stephen Harper's blander choice, the affable David Johnston, was a model of both intellectual expertise and decorum.

Enamoured of flashy appointments, however, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chose poorly: the socially maladroit Julie Payette. The specific reasons for Payette's resignation — that is, the detailed allegations of workplace abuse contained in the full report by independent consulting firm Quintet — are not public, the excuse for this being that privacy trumps public interest, even in this case. Withholding the report, however, is an outrageous exercise in secrecy given that its contents led Payette to resign from a job that is fundamental to the smooth functioning of our Westminster system.

Or is it? What does it say about the position of governor general in modern times that prime ministers feel they can treat it like a shiny bauble to wave aloft, casting about for celebrities to fill the post rather than treating it as vital to a stable parliamentary democracy?

On Friday, Justin Trudeau grudgingly said he would examine whether the selection process for governor general could be “strengthened.” If the job truly is important, he must do so, with full transparency. He might start with the Harper model, an expert committee whose permanent members are selected by the secretary to the Queen in Canada. He could make a cosmetic change or two and claim it's his idea, while ensuring the resulting recommendations are properly vetted.

Perhaps the final candidate for the job will not be a dazzling star in the cool-kids firmament. But at least our next governor general will do no harm.