Governor-General Payette being undermined by Trudeau Goverment

Vincent J. Curtis

8 Aug 20

Governor-General Julie Payette may well be as crazy as Myriam Bedard.  The recent stories concerning the relationship she has with her staff and the expensive renovations of Rideau Hall have tended to undermine the public’s perception of her.  The fact that these stories emanate from the CBC tells you all you need to know about their political origin.

What is also true is that Governor-General Payette is at the moment the only real check on the Trudeau government.  As a result of the Covid crisis, Prime Minster Trudeau was granted practically dictatorial powers and an unlimited budget, and then the House of Commons adjourned.  The GG has the constitutional powers to dismiss a Prime Minister and to dissolve the House, and until the House gets back to normal these are the only checks on the Trudeau government.

Since Prime Minister Trudeau is presently embroiled in the WE scandal, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was asked if, in the wake of these CBC stories,  she had confidence in Payette, to which the DPM answered. let's talk about something else.  Constitutionally, it works the other way around.  It is the GG who has to have confidence in her ministers and government, or she sends them packing.  That Freeland either didn’t know this or pretended not to know is unsettling.  To have informed the Canadian Civics-deficient Journo of the constitutional facts of Canada would have served as a perfectly good reply, but that wasn't the reply.  It makes one wonder why the Trudeau government is permitting these attacks on Payette, who, by custom, goes not engage in political combat.

Even if all that is said about Payette is true, it doesn’t matter to the us, general public.  Our democracy is highly theoretical right now, and with the House out of action, Payette is at this moment its most powerful custodian.

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