Silly Little Country

David Johnston to be new GG

We're replacing our Governor- General; the habit if having CBC female personalities (with husbands who take themselves really seriously) has run its course, and the President of the University of Waterloo will take over, after a significant career as a University administrator.
Imagine my astonishment when some dork at rabble.ca (yes I know that is redundancy, and no I won't link to them) insinuates that this has something to do with the recent Mulroney inquiry, whose terms of reference Johnston helped set. Now I Did not find this at all credible, as it was pretty clear the appointment was recommended by a pretty unpolitical process.
Now of course I assumed that only the loons at rabble could have such dumb notions, but it leaked apparently into the more marginally lefty press in Toronto. Andrew Coyne responds.

At the very least they should say clearly what they mean. Is it seriously alleged that Johnston and Harper cooked up a deal in advance — you keep Airbus out of the inquiry, and I’ll make you Governor General? Surely no one is that far gone. Is it, then, that a grateful Harper bestowed the appointment upon him as a sort of reward, ie that it was only the appointment, and not the advice, that was corrupt — a prospect the Star’s Jim Travers raises, but can’t be arsed to properly debunk? Or is it merely, as Rick Salutin claims, that Johnston’s role in the Oliphant inquiry was an “audition” (whoops, “what can be seen as an audition”), a “test of what the guy might do in a situation where Harper interests are at stake.” You follow the logic: because he had ruled in a way that was supposedly favourable to Harper’s interests in the matter of Mulroney’s cash, he could also be relied upon to do so, say, in a constitutional crisis, the connecting factor being — what?
Nothing in Johnston’s life or record suggests he would offer an opinion based on anything but his best judgment of the public interest. He has never been accused of any partisan leanings; Elections Canada’s site shows no record of him having contributed to a federal political party (apart, perhaps, from an “Experts-Conseil David Johnston Inc.”, which gave $459 to the Liberal Party of Canada in 2000).

There is much more worthy of reaading. One has to wonder at the sniveling nature of the left in making insinuations of no merit. Well, no, I take it back - one need not wonder, it is their routine to make meritless insinuations.
Disclosure: David Johnson's time at the U of W does not intersect with mine; I did see him once as an alumnus give a very boring speech. He should be a fine Governor-General. In fact in his acceptance speech he started out by pointing out that the Queen was head of state, something Michaelle Jean appeared frequently to be confused about, though I will say Elizabeth made a pretty clear point of it over the last weeks.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 12:25 PM