From: yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Dave Shariff Yadallee)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: Governors-General, Now the will of the people.
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 92 06:02:29 MDT
Organization: Edmonton Remote Systems #1, Edmonton, AB, Canada

smd@uunet.ca (Sean Doran) writes:

-
- Dave, this takes the cake.  While many people might also hope to
- abolish patronage, the end of political appointments is not nigh.
-
- With the latest set of deaths and resignations from the Senate there
- are now enough vacancies in the upper house to begin a large binge of
- appointments.  You can bet that if there is no final deal on Senate
- Reform, the Prime Minister will be filling up the empty seats in the
- Upper House.
-
- You can also bet that the P.M. will continue to hand over embassies to
- his old chums, even as his current Clerk of the Privy Council appears
- to be favouring professional civil servants to the P.M.'s friends when
- it comes to appointing deputy ministers.
-
- You can also bet that none of the three parties would feel comfortable
- telling its workers that there would be no reward for its staffers and
- bagmen other than warm fuzzy thankyous and a good conscience.
-
- In short, you can bet that patronage is coming to an end, and I can
- bet that Mulroney will go public and ask the remaining loyal Tories
- not to vote for him in the next election.  The odds are about the same
- in either case, although I think I have a slight edge.
-
   Currently, we might get an elected, equal and SOMEWHAT effective Senate
if all goes well.  I could support the current deal if Quebec's Distinct
Society doe NOT override the charter of Freedom.   Sean, myself, and the
current thinking of the Alberta liberal Party, is to let the best
person have the job irregardless of party partisanery.
   Isn't that one level above patronage?

- This is a big turnaround for you.  I'm surprised that you missed the
- obvious argument that the Queen ought to choose who represents her in
- Canada.  This is, after all, the status quo.  The only difference
- between now and a hundred years ago is that the Qween is beholden to
- the advice of the elected Canadian government rather than her elected
- British government, when choosing someone to keep Rideau Hall warm.
-
  Noting the words status quo, I am arguing against the status quo.  Note:
the GG is now appointed on recommendation of the PM.  My suggestion is that
we all should have a say in the aapointment of the GG.  Alberta did so in the
Senate elections we had here.


- For all his many faults as a Cabinet Minister, I have no great gripes
- about Hnatyshyn as a Governor General.  His only failing is that he is
- too cosy with the PM; some ideological tension between the PM and the
- GG has been useful in the past, and is (imho) generally desirable,
- especially as the PM and GG of the day always tend to work in rather
- close quarters on many things.  Like patronage appointments, for example.
-
-       Sean.
-

  Again, the appointment of Ray was indeed Patronage!  IMHO, he was rewarded
after being defeated in Saskatchewan.  If we could choose our GG, I believe
people may become happier.

Dave Shariff Yadallee
yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca, userLIBE@mts.ucs.ualberta.ca
God Save the Queen, God Bless us All!
cowboy (n): A 20th Century extension of  the neanderthal caveman.
Newsgroups: can.politics