Our New Governor General

[Cloud Cover]

Congratulations:

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/08/03/gg050803.html


 

C B C . C A    N e w s    -    F u l l    S t o r y :
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'Canadians will fall in love' with new governor general
Last Updated Wed, 03 Aug 2005 19:44:22 EDT
CBC News
Michaelle Jean will be Canada's next governor general. The official announcement will be made by Prime Minister Paul Martin at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday.


INDEPTH: Governor General

 
Michaelle Jean (CBC Photo)  
"It's obviously a very exciting appointment. Here's someone who's quite young, very dynamic, has a rapport with a lot of younger audience," said Paul Benoit, an expert on the Canadian monarchy.

At just 48 years old, the award winning journalist will become one of the youngest governors general ever, the third woman in the job and the first black person to call Rideau Hall home.

Jean, a journalist, is probably best known to English Canadians as the host of The Passionate Eye on CBC TV and Rough Cuts on CBC Newsworld.

But her television career was launched in Quebec where she has worked as a journalist, producer and host for the CBC's French language services, SRC and RDI, since 1988.

She has worked as a correspondent for Le Point, hosted Le Monde ce soir, L'Edition quebecoise, Horizons francophones, le Journal RDI and RDI à l'écoute. Currently she is host of the French-language documentary series Grands Reportages.

Jean has received many awards for her own documentary work including the Amnesty International Journalism Award, the Anik Prize and the Galaxi Award for best information program host.

Historian David Mitchell says Jean will play an important role, at a critical time in Canada's history. "She will be a voice for Canada in Quebec and she will represent the new Quebec to the rest of Canada very effectively. She has that potential and that sense, this is an inspired choice."

Jean was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She left in 1968, her family fleeing the oppressive regime of Jean 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, settling in Quebec with her family. She is fluent in five languages: French, English, Spanish, Italian and Haitian Creole.

A source close to the governor general selection process told CBC News "Canadians will fall in love with this woman. Her story, her nature and her character are nothing short of inspirational."

The prime minister will officially announce Jean's appointment on Thursday morning. She'll be installed as Canada's 27th governor general Oct. 1.


Copyright ©2005 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved  

 

[Infanteer]

So much for the elder statesman - I would have liked to have been able to exercise my sovereign franchise on this one....

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Well, I'm certainly going to have to reserve judgement on this one. Let's see where she spends Christmas or New Years.

 

[Gunner]

Sorry, but I view it as another political hack being appointed to the patronage trough. Time will tell.

 

[bullet counter]

I guess working for the CBC really pays off.

 

[Infanteer]

When it comes to anything that revolves around patronage appointment, I'm a glass half-empty guy.  Even though I detest many of the politicians that float around Ottawa today, I feel good knowing that it was a collective us who put them there - so we are able to reap what we sow on that one....

 

[Gunner98]

Did CBC buy Rideau Hall and start a reality series entitled "There's Lady in the Hall" without letting the Cdn Public in on the deal? She represents the fourth journalist to hold the position.

Jean is married to documentary film-maker Jean-Daniel Lafond and has a six-year-old adopted daughter, Marie-eden.  Jean has also worked with renowned filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond to produce three independent documentaries: L'heure de Cuba (1999), about the 40th anniversary of the Cuban revolution, Tropique Nord (1994) about being black in Quebec and the Hot Docs award-winning Haiti dans tous nos rêves (1995).

http://www.cbc.ca/passionateeyesunday/host.html


http://michaelle-jean.biography.ms/

Michaelle Jean is an award-winning Canadian reporter, filmmaker and broadcaster, who hosts and produces documentary programming for television on both the English and French networks of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Fluent in five languages - French, English, Spanish, Italian and Haitian Creole - Jean studied at the University of Montreal and universities in Florence, Milan and Perugia, Italy.

 

[Dare]

Not her... oh god..  un.. believable..

I suppose it's now official. The CBC pseudo-intellectuals run Canada. Journalist? As if.. I really don't care how many languages she knows, nor how young she is. Political neutrality (despite it being virtually impossible), is not her strong suit. They're selling this on familiarity, her cultural identity, her films and her youth?

While we're at it, maybe we can put Avi Lewis up for the next Prime Minister. Canada can be just like Venezuela in no time! Joy.. or even better. Let's make famous hockey players Governor General's! That'll bring the tourists in, and unite Canada!

It's funny, because I'd actually prefer that.

Maybe it's on the agenda for next year.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Sorry, but I view it as another political hack being appointed to the patronage trough. Time will tell.

Got a mocking note from my brother in Australia reminding me that their current GG is a former Army Major General, SASR CO and winner of the Military Cross in Vietnam... :

http://www.gg.gov.au/html/fset_bio.html

 

[Gunner]

Got a mocking note from my brother in Australia reminding me that their current GG is a former Army Major General, SASR CO and winner of the Military Cross in Vietnam...

Thanks for making my evening knowing that fact... 

I don't necessarily need a former military member to be our governor general and I don't have any ill will toward the current governor-general.  Her Excellency has been a much better Commander in Chief than we have had for many years (it may be His Excellency John Ralston Saul's influence on her) and she has my respect for that.

However, I am totally opposed to unelected political hacks, pseudo-intellectuals, or an image of the cultural mosaic being appointed by one man (senate, governor-general, supreme court, etc, etc) and they now representing me as the head of Canada or charting the future development of this country.

It is high time we threw off the shackles of our imperialist past and become a bonifide grown up country as a republic. 

 

 

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Let's make famous hockey players Governor General's!

Doesn't the PM already make them Senators?

 

[Gunner]

Doesn't the PM already make them Senators?

 

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Bah, he makes failed LGens senators too... 

 

[Spanky]

Film-makers, "journalists", left wing intellectuals being made GG.  Did they run out of Order of Canada medals? :rage:

 

[Slim]

Gotta say I'm less than ethusiastic about this appointment.

The CBC does not need another "voice" in this country...It needs a good deal less.

Adrian C at least paid the troopies some very worthwhile attention...This...appointee...will, no doubt (and with Canadian journalistic integrity) probably ignore the lot of them.

Sigh...Here we go again.

Slim

 

[aesop081]

The CBC does not need another "voice" in this country...It needs a good deal less.

I suppose it could have been worse.  The PM could have picked someone from Air Canada  ;D

 

[Slim]

I suppose it could have been worse.   The PM could have picked someone from Air Canada   ;D

All they could do would be to crash on someone or, more likely, go bankrupt in which case we'de have to sell Readeau Hall, then buy it back for 5 times the price.

No, the problem with the CBC is that most Canadians are still under the misguided impression that they tell anything approximating the truth!

Cheers

 

[bubba]

crap :-X

 

[larry Strong]

Is this really the best this country has to offer for this position?

 

[Kat Stevens]

I believe the other choices were Jim Carey and Tom Green, pretty close race to call there....

Kat