https://www.macleans.ca/general/canada-is-a-french-country/
Canada is a French country
COYNE: Stephen Harper has been playing up the province’s role in Canadian history
Jul 19, 2010But wait a minute. Johnston is, as he says, the representative of the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, granddaughter of George III, the first monarch to rule over what was then called British North America. Champlain served a different king, from an altogether different royal house: Louis XIII of France.
Yet Johnston seemed to be saying the two dynasties, British and French, were one, part of the same story. Just as he is the 71st in a line of governors going back to Champlain, so Elizabeth is not the sixth monarch to reign over Canada (since Confederation), or even the ninth (since the British Conquest), but the 18th, going back to Francis I, the king in whose name Jacques Cartier first landed in Canada in 1534.
I don’t know whether Johnston wrote his own speech, or whether someone in the Prime Minister’s Office wrote it for him. But it is certainly very much in keeping with a rhetorical strategy Stephen Harper has been deploying for some time: that is of speaking of Canada as if it were, at least in part, a French country. (Which, of course, it is.) He’s reaching back to a French heritage that predates Confederation, predates the Conquest, emphasizing that our roots were first planted in the soil of New France.
Just days before, at the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill, the Prime Minister had spoken glowingly of “the steadfast determination and continental ambition of our French pioneers, who were the first to call themselves ‘Canadians.’ ” At other times he has spoken of Canada as having been “born in French,” of French as “Canada’s first language,” and, most famously, of Quebec City as “Canada’s first city,” its founding in 1608 as marking “the founding of the Canadian state.”
Harper is not the first to have taken this line—the “Champlain as first governor” theme seems to have been inspired by a portrait identifying him as such in Rideau Hall—but I can’t recall any prime minister placing such heavy emphasis, deliberate and repeated, on it. While the sentiment may seen anodyne, moreover, the implications are radical.
For 50 years we have been debating whether Quebec would remain a part of Canada. Harper’s formulation turns this on its head: Canada is, in a sense, a part of Quebec. By fusing Quebec’s history with Canada’s, both emanations of the same French colonial experience, it makes pride in Quebec coterminous with pride in Canada. Quebecers could no more reject Canada, on this reading, than they could their own French heritage: the one grew out of the other.
This is not a repudiation of Quebec nationalism so much as a subversion of it. Nationalist mythology has long emphasized the Conquest as the decisive break point in Canadian history, the trauma from which French-speaking Quebecers have never fully recovered, and never will unless “liberated” by secession. The psychiatrist and Péquiste minister Camille Laurin used to talk about Quebec as if it were quite literally a patient on his couch.
The nationalists’ conquêtisme, of course, was but a mirror to that of an earlier tradition of Anglo triumphalists, who also emphasized the Conquest (“Wolfe the dauntless hero came”) as the locus generis of the British ascendancy. As, in their own way, did a later generation of Canadian nationalists, for whom the British connection was a yoke to be thrown off, together with such colonial “relics” as the Crown, not merely to mollify Quebec but for the sake of our own psychological maturation as a people. You still hear a lot of that.
But if the history of Canada is an unbroken chain of sovereignty, Francis to Elizabeth, Champlain to Johnston; if what is important about it is not the change from French to British rule but the continuity between them—if we are not a British monarchy, or even a French monarchy and then a British one, but simply a monarchy, throughout—then the Conquest is not the pivotal event in our history: it is just an event. The effect, in turn, is to deracinate the British inheritance. What is valuable is the inheritance—Crown, Parliament, the common law, the Constitution—not its Britishness.
If that sounds like a lot to load onto a few words, it certainly didn’t strike Quebec nationalists that way. When Harper first started talking about Quebec City as the birthplace of Canada, around the time of the 400th anniversary, the nationalists were fairly purple with rage, accusing him in the most acrid terms of rewriting history for political ends.
But then, they should know. The nationalist project, notably in the use of the neologism “Québécois” in place of “French-Canadian,” was a conscious attempt to shunt the history of Quebec off onto a siding, separate and apart from the history of Canada, whose logical terminus was a separate Quebec. The logic of Harper’s language is to wrench it back on to the same track as the rest of us: while Champlain could hardly have known he was founding Canada, it is certainly true that the history of present-day Canada leads inexorably back to him.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Anonymous said...
Only the crooks are scared that I am back in the Maritimers. A lot of ordinary folks like me are laughing at how I am poking holes in their stuffed shirts. This letter is wickedly funny, Both Adrienne Clarkson and Herménégilde Chiasson answered this one after my wife and I and a lawyer who wanted Rob Moore's seat in parliament visited the Police Commission in New Brunswick. Bev Harrison would not answer this letter or even return my calles even though he has represented me from my spot on the hill since I landed home last year. His assistants have affirmed to me several times that they received it. I am demanding an answer from Tanker now tha old Bev's assistant Bill Oliver refused to call me back for the last time on Friday. I do not care what the tough talking Danny Boy Bussieres says only the Speaker can authorize the Sergeant at Arms to ban a man from the legislature. Besides that the Governor General his ultimate boss told me I was doing the right thing before I returned to the USA and into Deputy Dog's buddy's jail. I wiil put this letter and the responses in the same email to Chucky and Deputy Dog
August 24th, 2004
Lieutenant-Governor of
New Brunswick,
Herménégilde Chiasson
Old GovernmentHouse
51 Woodstock Road
Fredericton, NB E3B 9L8
Phone (506) 453-2505
Fax (506) 444-5280
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly,
Bev Harrison
Constituency Office: Hampton-Belleisle
Room: Unit 4, 46 Keirstead Avenue
Hampton, NB E5N 5A4
Phone (506) 832-6464
Fax (506) 832-6466
RE: Corruption
August 24th, 2004
Lieutenant-Governor of
New Brunswick,
Herménégilde Chiasson
Old GovernmentHouse
51 Woodstock Road
Fredericton, NB E3B 9L8
Phone (506) 453-2505
Fax (506) 444-5280
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly,
Bev Harrison
Constituency Office: Hampton-Belleisle
Room: Unit 4, 46 Keirstead Avenue
Hampton, NB E5N 5A4
Phone (506) 832-6464
Fax (506) 832-6466
RE: Corruption
Sirs,
Please find enclosed exactly the same material served upon Premier Lord and Frank McKenna on the day after Canada Day and a copy of Brad Green’s response. I have also enclosed a letter to Senator Joe Day that was to be forwarded to the Arar Commission. The copy of wiretap tape numbered 139 is served upon you in confidence as the Queen’s representatives of in order that it may be properly investigated. I ask New Brunswick’s Lieutenant-Governor of, Herménégilde Chiasson to forward this material to the Governor General of Canada. I have already emailed her notice to expect this material and I will email her the text of this letter as well.
Whereas the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick stands adjourned until Tuesday, December 14, 2004, at 1 o'clock p.m, perhaps you fellas can find a little time to answer me before I sue the Queen in the USA. My questions are as follows: Why did Sergeant-at-Arms, Dan Bussieres and the Fredericton Police Dept. ask me to step outside the Legislature Building and then forever ban me from re-entering the premises on June 24th, 2004? What will you do with your newfound knowledge of crime?
It is only fair that I ask these questions. After all I am a Canadian Citizen and I do have the right to ask any question to those who represent me. Whether they are born to the position or elected or appointed or merely hired, they all must uphold the law and the public trust. The Queen of Canada, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, is the official Head of State and is represented in New Brunswick by the Lieutenant-Governor. Therefore, the Lieutenant-Governor is the nominal Head of State at the provincial level, empowered with the responsibility of representing the Queen in the province. Thus I have asked him the aforesaid questions before I leave the jurisdiction of New Brunswick.
The Ombudsman, Bernard Richard told me to take my matter up the Speaker of the House and thus far Mr. Harrison has ignored my phone calls and emails. Bev Harrison did have the opportunity to ask me any question he wished before he decided not to vote for me. It seems he would rather have the lawyer, Rob Moore speak for him in Parliament. I would not be surprised to learn that Bev Harrison was the same man I had spoken to months ago or that he had attended the debate in Hampton. I have no doubt that Mr Harrison knows exactly who I am and why I was in Fredericton that day. I am not a rebel just because I make inquiries and demand that people in public service uphold the law.
The problem is that on June 24th I was a candidate for the 38th Parliament. I was busy challenging those still in public service such as John Herron to do their jobs and uphold the law. I was merely in the legislative building looking for the Frenchman Charles Leblanc so he could witness me serve this material upon the lawyer, T J Burke next door. I had made certain that many politicians were made well aware of my concerns and allegations before coming home to run for a seat in the next Parliament. The local liberal, Leroy Armstrong was willing to debate me so I was giving this material to his liberal lawyer friends to review. Dan Bussieres offended me for political reasons not legal reasons. The Speaker of the House should not have allowed the Sergeant’s actions or at least responded to my inquiry. These must be irrefutable facts because after almost two months of asking everyone imaginable about the actions of the Sergeant-at-Arms, no one would even tell me his name let alone explain his actions, It appears that the Government of Canada would rather assist corrupt politicians within a country that had rebelled against the Queen than assist one of her subjects to escape their harassment.
I must return to the USA because I have been summoned to court to argue more false allegations made against me. Whereas my country is willing to throw me back into Ashcroft’s clutches, I must complain of the Crown. It seems the Yankees may have been right long ago when they refused to pay taxes without proper representation. Perhaps Canada should follow suit. We all know what has been said about the evils of longstanding governments. What say you sirs? Am I speaking sedition or common sense?
I have heard that Louis Riel once said that the French would take over Canada without firing a shot. Now many of the French wish to separate. Maybe true Canadians can reunite our country in the same fashion. There is no need of the cartridge box as long as we properly employ the soap box and ballot box. The tools of bloodless revolutions are the laws of the land. They are in the hands of people begging us for our vote every so often. Canada does not need to pay homage to a Queen who will not check the work of the people representing her and us. We need a new form of government. I agree with Louis Riel’s thinking when he proclaimed that the Metis were “loyal subjects of Her Majesty the Queen of England’. If we are rebels, we are rebels against the Company that sold us” Although he was labelled a rebel, Louis Riel was a Canadian patriot who did stop Western Canada from being absorbed by the USA. He was also elected to Parliament twice. He would abhor NFTA as much as I. The words in Riel’s diary are well worth heeding.
“O my God! Save me from the misfortune of getting involved with the United States. Let the United States protect us indirectly, spontaneously, through an act of Providence, but not through any commitment or agreement on our part.” Riel stated in his diary this as well: “God revealed to me that the government of the United States is going to become extraordinarily powerful.”
Cya’ll in Court:)
David R. Amos
153 Alvin Ave.
Milton. MA. 02186
- March 24, 2006
Bernard Shapiro
Ethics Commissioner
C/o Andre Arthur MP
325 de l'Eglise
Donnacona, Québec G3M 2A2
Jean T. Fournier
Senate Ethics Officer
C/o Senator Noel Kinsella and Michael Comeau
Holy Cross House Rm. 206
St. Thomas University
Fredericton NB
Kevin Lynch Clerkc/o Paul Shuttle
Director of Legal Operations
Privy Council Office
59 Sparks Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A3
David Gourdeau
Commissioner for FederalJudicial Affairs
c/o Willa Doyle
District Administrator
Suite 100
82 Westmorland Street
Fredericton, NB E3B 3L3
Re: Public Corruption
Sirs,
Pursuant to my many phone calls and email to your offices please find enclosed the material I promised to you before I file my complaints in Federal Court in Fredericton. The CD which is a true copy of wiretap tape number 139 is served upon you all in confidence as officers of the court and or Parliamentarians in order that it may be investigated byway of my suing the Crown.
While Stevey Boy Harper is busy in New Brunswick today trying hard to shore up the shaky government of his little buddy, Bernie Lord with long delayed federal tax dollars. I am polishing off all my promises to crooked lawyers in the hope that the very corrupt House crumbles ASAP.
Shame on you all for forcing me to go to such lengths to protect my rights under the Charter. Methinks you have underestimated my diligence EH? Now ask yourselves why I don’t sue you after I sue the Crown? I fail to see any reason not to. That is the only way I know of to hold such people as you accountable. Stevey Boy Harper never will even though he talks the talk of such things. Everybody knows what I served upon his party’s lawyer Arthur Hamilton before I was falsely imprisoned in the USA in 2004.
Despite whatever Act our latest Prime Minister wishes to introduce to the Canadian people that he claims will compel our government to act with integrity, he can never deny my right to drag anyone into court. In fact he has done so himself in the past and I am no less of a man than he. Even a simple pigheaded Maritimer has the right to argue the law even with people who think themselves above it. How you all have failed to uphold the law and the public trust placed in your public office is either a matter of public record or soon shall be or my name ain’t Dave. There is no Democracy without Truth and Justice. It is just that simple.
Thats all for now fellas. I look forward to seeing you all in court someday or I will die trying to make it happen in an ethical fashion. It is just another one of those things I do that lawyers fail to appreciate. Ask your friends why that is if you don’t already know.
Veritas Vincit
David Raymond Amos
PO Box 234
Apohaqui, NB. E5P 3G2
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/micha%C3%ABlle-jean-chosen-as-new-head-of-la-francophonie-1.2855138
Michaëlle Jean chosen as new head of la Francophonie
Jean's 4-year term as secretary-general gives Harper government more influence internationally
CBC News· Posted: Nov 30, 2014 9:12 AM ET
Former governor general Michaëlle Jean has been chosen as secretary-general of la Francophonie, the organization announced today.
Jean was chosen by consensus at the summit of French-speaking nations in Dakar, Senegal, which began on Saturday. She becomes the first woman to hold the position.
The organization has 57 members or associate members, while another 20 jurisdictions have observer status.
"I am very excited to work with all these women and all these men who make and live the Francophonie daily," Jean said in a written statement following the announcement.
Jean also emphasized the important role of youth and women, and stressed the need to promote the use of the French language and strengthen economic action in the Francophone world.
The CBC's Rosemary Barton said Jean's appointment gives Canada and the Conservative government a much stronger level of influence internationally.
"It allows the prime minister, for instance, to continue to push his agenda of maternal and child health in a different organization within the very countries that he's been targeting," Barton said.
"And it also improves, let's be frank, our reputation internationally as well to have a Canadian head up an organization like this one. So certainly a coup for Jean today, but also a coup for the prime minister who backed this bid and for the country as a whole."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who attended the summit with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant, said in a statement that Jean was the ideal person for the job.
"She will embody the renewal and modernity that la Francophonie of the 21st century needs, and will listen to heads of state and government and their citizens," he said.
Laureen Harper, the prime minister's wife, tweeted, "Congratulations to my friend."
Gov. Gen. David Johnston also issued a statement.
"We are confident that she will fervently and passionately defend not only the French language and culture, but also respect for the shared values of peace, democracy and human rights that have solidified the belonging of each nation in la Francophonie," he said.
Jean lobbied hard for position
If the organization's members had any reticence about Jean, Barton said, it's because she's not from Africa.
"Most of the member of la Francophonie are African Nations and there was some concern whether a North American could well represent the needs of Africa," Barton said.
"But remember that Canada is the second biggest donor to la Francophonie and Jean has a background so well-known and she did a lot of work to try to win this. She lobbied countries very, very hard and travelled around to try to get them onside."
Jean's mandate will last four years. She was one of five candidates seeking to replace Abdou Diouf, who stepped down after more than 10 years on the job.
Jean, 57, was governor general between 2005 and 2010. She was born in Port-au-Prince on Sept. 6, 1957, during the era of the Duvalier dictatorships in Haiti. Her family moved to Thetford Mines, Que., in 1968.
The former Radio-Canada reporter has worked recently in Haiti as a special envoy for UNESCO and has been the chancellor of the University of Ottawa since 2012.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-full-episode-1.4680886/micha%C3%ABlle-jean-under-fire-over-expenses-as-she-heads-into-francophonie-election-1.4680891
Michaëlle Jean under fire over expenses as she heads into Francophonie election
Former Canadian GG up for re-election as secretary general of the French-speaking nations' organization
As Canada's former Governor General Michaëlle Jean seeks re-election as leader of la Francophonie, she has lost the support of France and is facing tough opposition from lawmakers in her home province of Quebec.
Jean was named secretary general of the French-speaking nations' organization in 2014, with a promise to promote economic development, gender equality and dialogue, especially among developing African nations.
In recent months she has been dogged by questions about her expenses, which include a $500,000 renovation to her rented Paris residence and a $20,000 piano, according to Quebecor media outlets.
"She needs to show some leadership," Quebec MP Alupa Clarke told As It Happens host Carol Off.
"It's a complete fiasco right now."
Jean's office did not respond to As It Happens' request for comment, but she defended her expenses in French-language interviews in 2017.
She told TFO the Canadian government assigned her a residence that was in dire need of renovations, and that items like the grand piano were necessary to create an atmosphere where she could host diplomatic receptions.
That explanation doesn't cut it for Clarke.
"I do not exactly agree with all those expenses for diplomatic reasons," he said. "She needs to come clear publicly at the mic and explain herself way more than just answering here and there."
'A problem for our reputation'
He said his constituents have contacted him to express their concerns about Jean.
Canada is the second biggest donor to the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF).
"When I speak to Canadians in the street, they're embarrassed right now," he said. "It's a problem for our reputation."
"Michaëlle Jean has become an embarrassment to Canada," he said in question period.
"She has managed the organization in a completely irresponsible way."
Bloc Quebecois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval also suggested the Liberals should not support Jean given various "scandals" during her tenure.
Canada backs Jean as France drops support
Also not supporting Jean this time is France, which dealt a blow to Jean's chances at a second term when President Emmanuel Macron said he would back Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo when the organization chooses a new leader in October.
But the governments of both Canada and Quebec have pledged to support Jean, while conceding there is room to improve the organization's financial management.
"Our government is determined to [ensure] that Canadians' money is used judiciously and rigorously," Justine Lesage, spokesperson for International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, told As It Happens in an emailed statement.
"That is why our government is engaging with the OIF to helping modernize its management practices, achieve a more effective communication of results as well as a greater transparency."
"We are proud to have a Canadian at the head of an important international organization such as the OIF," Lesage said.
A similar position was expressed by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, who said last week he is happy to see a Quebecer and Canadian leading the organization.
He added that concerns about its finances "have been heard," saying he believes Jean intends to present a plan to address the matter.
"Ms. Jean actively promotes our Canadian priorities such as gender equality and entrepreneurship among youth and women."
Jean, who was born in Haiti, was Canada's governor general from 2005 to 2010.
Written by Sheena Goodyear with files from Canadian Press. Interview with Alupa Clarke produced by Kevin Robertson.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-governor-general-at-odds-with-rcmp-over-security-issues/
Governor-General at odds with RCMP over security issues
Governor-General Julie Payette has been frequently at odds with the RCMP over security issues in the first year of her mandate, from her decision to go jogging without informing her protective detail to the fact that she lives off the protected grounds of Rideau Hall, current and former RCMP sources say.
The disputes highlight some of Ms. Payette’s struggles to fit into the vice-regal role as she enters the second year of her mandate on Oct. 2.
A former astronaut and public speaker, Ms. Payette was widely hailed as a good choice to replace David Johnston last year, with her nomination respecting the tradition of alternating between francophones and anglophones. In addition, her scientific background and ability to inspire young Canadians were in sync with the image that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to project.
Still, current and retired officials from Rideau Hall and the RCMP, as well as one of her close friends, said Ms. Payette was not entirely ready for the public scrutiny that came with her nomination, as well as the constraints that would be placed on her personal movements. While mostly symbolic, the governor-general is the head of Canada’s military and fulfills a key role in the country’s democracy that goes from giving legislation royal assent to issuing election writs and summoning Parliament.
“She is used to being a public figure, but she was not used to the protocols and all of those things,” said John Fraser, a former master of Massey College in Toronto who has known Ms. Payette for years. “I don’t think anything could have prepared her for the shock of what being governor-general was. She hasn’t been immersed in that life.”
An expert on issues related to the monarchy, Mr. Fraser added that the first year of a mandate is typically hard for governors-general.
“I understand the essential loneliness of the job that she has taken on, which I don’t think she realized when she did it,” he said. “Security is one of the nightmares of any of these jobs, it must be a shock to realize that your whole life is bounded by this.”
The current and former RCMP officials spoke anonymously to The Globe and Mail on the matter because of the confidential nature of issues surrounding security. They expressed concerns that the Mounties are not in a position to offer traditional standards of protection for the Governor-General, adding that they are concerned that the RCMP will nonetheless be blamed in the event of an incident.
The RCMP is in charge of protecting the governor-general and family “at all times when in Canada or abroad, including during personal travels and visits,” according to federal rules.
Still, RCMP sources said there have been concerns over Ms. Payette’s personal activities, whether in Ottawa where she has gone out to jog by herself or in her hometown of Montreal where she likes to be in crowded parts of the city that are not easy to secure.
“I don’t know what the RCMP have as a threat risk on her but the reality is she is the Governor-General and we are not immune from potential terrorist attack. Because of that and her status, she could definitely be a target at some point,” former RCMP superintendent Garry Clement said.
The RCMP and the National Capital Commission (NCC), which is in charge of the government’s official residences, have also faced resistance in their efforts to enhance the security infrastructure at 7 Rideau Gate, where Ms. Payette is living while Rideau Hall is facing further renovations, the sources said.
Mr. Clement, who conducted a security review of the prime minister’s official residence and Rideau Hall after an intruder broke into 24 Sussex in 1995, said Rideau Gate is a “vulnerable” location because it is located so close to the street. Mr. Clement said that extensive security updates have been done at the Governor-General’s residence to protect the head of state from either a terrorist attack or a lone wolf.
“Look, you accept that appointment, that means you live at Rideau Hall. It’s not just tradition, it is done because we spent a lot of money securing Rideau Hall,” he said. “That is like saying the Prime Minister should live anywhere he wants and we don’t have to worry about it. It’s ridiculous.”
In recent months, the NCC changed the heating system, renovated a washroom, replaced lighting systems and upgraded furnishings and furniture layouts at Rideau Hall. There is continuing work at the official residence on the building’s foundations and three washrooms in the administrative building, according to the NCC. However, Ms. Payette’s office has said that she will continue to live at Rideau Gate to allow the government to complete a new round of renovations at Rideau Hall to make the location more accessible to people with mobility issues. There is no official timeline for the completion of the renovations.
Asked to comment on relations with the RCMP, a spokeswoman for Ms. Payette said that the Governor-General has no concerns related to her security.
“The Governor-General’s protective services are assessed continually and adapted, depending on the threat level and the environment. Her Excellency has full confidence in the RCMP competency and professionalism, and the relationship with her close protection team is excellent,” Josephine Laframboise said.
Ms. Laframboise said the Governor-General is keen to let Canadians know about her accomplishments in her first year in the position.
“In a few weeks, we will release our yearly assessment and we look forward to presenting the work we have done to Canadians. We have a few new outreach initiatives we are quite proud of and look forward to talking about,” Ms. Lafromboise said.
Mr. Fraser said Ms. Payette had initially been taken aback by some of the negative media coverage about her divorce and a fatal car crash that took place at the start of the decade. She also faced criticism for a speech in which she derided those who believe in divine intervention rather than natural evolution.
The key for Ms. Payette will be defining the issues that she will be promoting for the rest of her mandate, Mr. Fraser said.
“She is doing everything that is asked of her, and doing it with great charm,” Mr. Fraser said. “I think that now, in her second year, is the time where she will start flying a bit. She has a better measure of what it is the job involves.”
https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/romeo-leblanc-the-unassuming-governor-general
Roméo LeBlanc, the unassuming Governor General (YEA RIGHT)
Did You know?
- Roméo LeBlanc was born in New Brunswick in 1927 and studied at universities in Moncton and Paris. He was a teacher in his home province for nine years before joining Radio-Canada, CBC's French service, in 1960.
- In 1967 he became press liaison for then-prime minister Lester Pearson and then for his successor, Pierre Trudeau. A Liberal, LeBlanc was elected as a New Brunswick member of Parliament in 1972 and was a minister under Trudeau in 1974-79 and 1980-84. He was appointed to the Senate in 1984.
- In November 1994, when then-prime minister Jean Chrétien announced LeBlanc as the next governor general, Reform Party leader Preston Manning criticized the choice as "unwise and inappropriate," given LeBlanc's strong Liberal ties. According to the Globe and Mail (Nov. 23, 1994), LeBlanc was not Chrétien's first choice; hockey's Jean Béliveau turned down the honour because he wanted to avoid politics.
- LeBlanc launched the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award in 1996 to celebrate the people who have made remarkable contributions within their families, communities and the nation. In 1999 he ushered in the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
- In August 1999, just before departing the post, LeBlanc ordered a redesign of the governor general's crest. The crest depicted a golden lion wearing a crown, sticking out its tongue and brandishing a maple leaf in one paw. The new design removed the lion's claws, obliterated any hint of its maleness and withdrew its tongue. When she took over the office, governor general Adrienne Clarkson requested that the crest revert to its original appearance.
- Roméo LeBlanc passed away on June 24, 2009, after a lengthy illness. He was 81 years old.
The Story
He is Canada's 25th Governor General and the first of Acadian heritage. On Feb. 8, 1995, Roméo LeBlanc becomes the Queen's representative in Canada. A Radio-Canada journalist turned MP and then senator, LeBlanc has maintained a low profile despite his long history on Parliament Hill. In two back-to-back segments from Prime Time News, CBC Television shows the solemn investiture ceremony and then visits LeBlanc's proud fellow Acadians in New Brunswick's Memramcook Valley.
Medium:
TelevisionProgram:
Prime Time NewsBroadcast Date:
Feb. 8, 1995Guests:
Susan Aglukark, Jean Chrétien, Leonard LeBlanc, Roméo LeBlancHost:
Peter MansbridgeReporter:
Paul Adams, Kas RoussyDuration:
5:23
https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/van-doos-22nd-battalion-decimated-at-arras
Georges Vanier became the second Canadian-born governor general (after Vincent Massey) and the first French Canadian one
Did You know?
- Georges Vanier was not scheduled to command during the Arras assault, but was called up when the 22nd's commander lost an eye. He became the unit's senior officer when all his superiors were wounded or killed.
- Vanier lead the remnants of the 22nd forward, placing himself at the centre of the attack. He was shot through the lung by a German bullet. As he was being carried off on a stretcher, a shell exploded beside him, killing the stretcher-bearer and shattering Vanier's leg. The leg was later amputated.
- By the end of the battle, only 40 men of the 22nd Battalion were left walking – 660 were dead or wounded.
- Vanier won the Military Cross in 1916. In 1919, he won the Distinguished Service Order and a bar to his Military Cross for his actions in 1918.
- In 1942, Vanier was promoted to the rank of major general.
- Like many of the soldiers of the 22nd Battalion, Georges Vanier was a very religious man. He was deeply offended by the profanity of the soldiers. He is said to have walked through the trenches asking his men, "What has Christ done to you for you to speak so?"
- Almost 6,000 men enlisted with the 22nd Battalion during the First World War. Almost half of those were wounded, and 992 were killed.
- On Aug. 1, 1959, Vanier became the second Canadian-born governor general (after Vincent Massey) and the first French Canadian one. He served as governor general until his death on March 5, 1967. He was only the second governor general to die in office since Confederation.
- Vanier and his wife are buried in a special tomb at La Citadelle, the headquarters of the Royal 22nd Regiment and official Quebec residence of the governor general.
Van Doos: 22nd Battalion decimated at Arras
The Story
With costly victories at Vimy Ridge, Passchedaele and Amiens, the men of the 22nd Battalion have gone from green recruits to veteran soldiers. But now they are asked to spearhead an assault eastward from Arras, through a maze of German trenches and fortifications. When Maj. Georges Vanier arrives, he finds his men scattered in shell holes under a murderous rain of bullets and shells. Vanier rallies the men, but is wounded by a German bullet, then nearly killed by an exploding shell. In this CBC Radio clip, Vanier tells CBC Radio how he led the 22nd Battalion out of their trenches, "over the top," and into hell on earth.
Medium:
RadioProgram:
Flanders' FieldsBroadcast Date:
Feb. 14, 1965Guest(s):
Georges P. VanierHost:
J. Frank WillisDuration:
7:05