The senior role in what is still a colonial system of governance.
July 7, 2021 11:45 AM Subscribe
Mary Simon has been appointed as the first Indigenous person to serve as Canada's Governor-General. Exquisitely qualified in all but one key respect, she is said to have been on the shortlist the last several times a GG was needed, but has now finally been chosen at a time when Crown-Indigenous relations are particularly fraught.
"OK- after the toxic narcissist astronaut, then the First Nations person."
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:07 PM on July 7, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:07 PM on July 7, 2021 [7 favorites]
my inner cynic instantly thinks, "Hmmm? Governor General -- the definition of a symbolic position. So, of course, a symbolic gesture."
But I'm not a complete cynic. She seems a very competent and decent person, and multi-lingual (just not the official kind). And she's genuinely of the north -- the greatest part of Canada in more ways than one.
And yeah, she can't possibly be worse than the astronaut.
posted by philip-random at 12:17 PM on July 7, 2021 [5 favorites]
But I'm not a complete cynic. She seems a very competent and decent person, and multi-lingual (just not the official kind). And she's genuinely of the north -- the greatest part of Canada in more ways than one.
And yeah, she can't possibly be worse than the astronaut.
posted by philip-random at 12:17 PM on July 7, 2021 [5 favorites]
The argument of "but she's not bilingual" is a shitty one to make in light of the revelation of the mass graves at the old boarding schools. That op-ed writer should be ashamed of themself.
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:32 PM on July 7, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:32 PM on July 7, 2021 [8 favorites]
It's particularly shitty to talk about bilingualism without even once noting that Mary Simon is in fact fluently bilingual, in English and Inuktitut.
posted by Superilla at 12:45 PM on July 7, 2021 [41 favorites]
posted by Superilla at 12:45 PM on July 7, 2021 [41 favorites]
a shitty one to make in light of the revelation of the mass graves at the old boarding schools. That op-ed writer should be ashamed of themself.
Seems like a lot of folks around my part of the world don’t think evidence of ethnic cleansing coming to light should be any reason to hold back on the barbecue and the Molsons.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:46 PM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
Seems like a lot of folks around my part of the world don’t think evidence of ethnic cleansing coming to light should be any reason to hold back on the barbecue and the Molsons.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:46 PM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
Phillip Lagasse: The Burdens of Office Will Be Heavy for the New Governor-General. Discusses three specific challenges.
posted by russilwvong at 12:59 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
Canada will soon have a new governor-general: Mary J. May Simon of Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, a former head of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization, and a seasoned diplomat who played a leading role in establishing the Arctic Council, among many other achievements. Mary Simon is well-placed to serve as governor-general. The vice-regal office is steeped in protocol and guided by a stringent choreography. As exemplified by the Queen herself, performing the duties of the head of state and nation requires a solid understanding of the Crown’s script in a constitutional monarchy. Given her experience as an ambassador and community leader, Simon should have no trouble fulfilling her functions.A 2012 article by Mary Simon, published shortly after she had served as president of ITK: How do Canada and Inuit get to win-win in the Arctic?
Yet our new governor-general will also face a series of challenges that will not be simple to navigate. Indeed, given the sad state of the vice-regal office and our reckoning with colonialism and sexual misconduct in the military, Her Excellency will carry a heavier burden than her predecessors.
posted by russilwvong at 12:59 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
Gentle note: Mary Simon is not First Nation, she is Inuit. In Canada, the term Indigenous refers to three distinct groups: First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
posted by oulipian at 1:00 PM on July 7, 2021 [24 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 1:00 PM on July 7, 2021 [24 favorites]
I didn’t realize until I read a few articles yesterday that Mary Simon was a negotiator in the historic James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. I did the math and she was only 27 at the time!
That Andrew Cohen article (the “one key aspect” link in the post) is execrable in the way it pits Indigenous people and French Canada against each other. As others have noted, Mary Simon is bilingual in English and Inuktitut, and as she herself has said, the reason she didn’t learn French in school is a direct result of the colonial system: “Despite growing up in northern Quebec, Simon said she never had an opportunity to learn French at an early age because it was not taught at the federal day school she attended. Day schools operated separately from residential schools but were run by many of the same groups that ran residential schools. They operated from the 1860s to the 1990s.”
Also, way to gloss over the (alleged) sins of Julie Payette: “Perhaps Justin Trudeau wanted to appoint Simon four years ago but was so smitten by Payette that she crowded out the competition. As we know, she was miserable and resigned.”
She was miserable and resigned?? No, she was investigated for workplace bullying that included “allegations of yelling, screaming, aggressive conduct, demeaning conduct and public humiliations.”
I dislike the way my country clings to its colonialist trappings, but if we are going to have a Governor General, Mary Simon will be the one we don’t deserve.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:12 PM on July 7, 2021 [14 favorites]
That Andrew Cohen article (the “one key aspect” link in the post) is execrable in the way it pits Indigenous people and French Canada against each other. As others have noted, Mary Simon is bilingual in English and Inuktitut, and as she herself has said, the reason she didn’t learn French in school is a direct result of the colonial system: “Despite growing up in northern Quebec, Simon said she never had an opportunity to learn French at an early age because it was not taught at the federal day school she attended. Day schools operated separately from residential schools but were run by many of the same groups that ran residential schools. They operated from the 1860s to the 1990s.”
Also, way to gloss over the (alleged) sins of Julie Payette: “Perhaps Justin Trudeau wanted to appoint Simon four years ago but was so smitten by Payette that she crowded out the competition. As we know, she was miserable and resigned.”
She was miserable and resigned?? No, she was investigated for workplace bullying that included “allegations of yelling, screaming, aggressive conduct, demeaning conduct and public humiliations.”
I dislike the way my country clings to its colonialist trappings, but if we are going to have a Governor General, Mary Simon will be the one we don’t deserve.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:12 PM on July 7, 2021 [14 favorites]
I hope Canada listens to her.
posted by whatevernot at 1:19 PM on July 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by whatevernot at 1:19 PM on July 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
It's particularly shitty to talk about bilingualism without even once noting that Mary Simon is in fact fluently bilingual, in English and Inuktitut.
posted by Superilla at 3:45 PM on July 7
Hear, hear!
Frankly, I've never liked the Trudeau government's (previous) strict insistence on English-French bilingualism. That requirement has been hugely problematic for appointees to the Supreme Court of Canada, as it has excluded some phenomenal Indigenous jurists like Harry Laforme and Murray Sinclair, and is probably part of why there still has yet to be an Indigenous person on that court.
posted by ZaphodB at 1:28 PM on July 7, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by Superilla at 3:45 PM on July 7
Hear, hear!
Frankly, I've never liked the Trudeau government's (previous) strict insistence on English-French bilingualism. That requirement has been hugely problematic for appointees to the Supreme Court of Canada, as it has excluded some phenomenal Indigenous jurists like Harry Laforme and Murray Sinclair, and is probably part of why there still has yet to be an Indigenous person on that court.
posted by ZaphodB at 1:28 PM on July 7, 2021 [12 favorites]
I don't like that opinion column's take at all - francophone sensitivities are an issue and the hardliner separatists will seize any excuse to be offended, but there is a big difference between (hypothetically) appointing some random unilingual anglo white man as GG because he's politically connected, versus appointing this woman who is literally from Quebec.
Also "no government would appoint a francophone who does not speak English" - the comparable example is more like appointing a Métis who was Michif/French bilingual, which I think would be a pretty cool move and more plausible than the author is giving it credit for.
posted by allegedly at 1:56 PM on July 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
Also "no government would appoint a francophone who does not speak English" - the comparable example is more like appointing a Métis who was Michif/French bilingual, which I think would be a pretty cool move and more plausible than the author is giving it credit for.
posted by allegedly at 1:56 PM on July 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
Question about Mary Simon: If the argument runs that Indigenous people are separate nations, and things like treaties are nation to nation legal discourses, how does that square with being the queen's rep in Canada.
posted by PinkMoose at 5:39 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by PinkMoose at 5:39 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
Well...that's a complex topic. The Governor General is technically appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and there are no legal limitations on eligibility at all (at least that I'm aware of), so Mary Simon is eligible if and only if Liz Two is ok with it.
Whether Indigenous people might see her as doing the wrong thing by volunteering to be the agent of a colonial monarch is up to them. There's a considerable diversity across First Nations, Inuit, and Métis so I wouldn't expect a monolithic opinion that it was good or bad.
There is a lot of baggage around the exact language used to describe "nations" within the country of Canada, and to talk about "sovereignty" and "nation-to-nation relations". Quebec is sometimes called a "distinct society" which was a very tricky term used in constitutional negotiations to avoid referring to francophone Quebec as a "nation". So maybe this appointment is a bridge between nations, or maybe it's someone going over to another nation, or maybe something else. Depends on your point of view.
In conclusion, Canada is a land of contrasts.
posted by allegedly at 6:23 PM on July 7, 2021 [10 favorites]
Whether Indigenous people might see her as doing the wrong thing by volunteering to be the agent of a colonial monarch is up to them. There's a considerable diversity across First Nations, Inuit, and Métis so I wouldn't expect a monolithic opinion that it was good or bad.
There is a lot of baggage around the exact language used to describe "nations" within the country of Canada, and to talk about "sovereignty" and "nation-to-nation relations". Quebec is sometimes called a "distinct society" which was a very tricky term used in constitutional negotiations to avoid referring to francophone Quebec as a "nation". So maybe this appointment is a bridge between nations, or maybe it's someone going over to another nation, or maybe something else. Depends on your point of view.
In conclusion, Canada is a land of contrasts.
posted by allegedly at 6:23 PM on July 7, 2021 [10 favorites]
I would describe Canada as a pluralistic, multi-national empire, something like the Austro-Hungarian Empire, containing multiple peoples: English-Canadians, French-Canadians, many Indigenous peoples, immigrants and visible minorities from all over. Quebec has been explicitly recognized as a nation (by the Harper government in 2006).
posted by russilwvong at 7:12 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by russilwvong at 7:12 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is a very interesting thread about the relationship between the Inuit and Canada, which I had not known before.
posted by jeather at 7:53 PM on July 7, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by jeather at 7:53 PM on July 7, 2021 [6 favorites]
Ah, yes, of course an Inuk woman would need to know not two but three languages (at least)! Thank goodness that this author, renowned across Turtle Island for his awareness of Indigenous issues (/sarcasm) is here to point out the "flaws" of an Indigenous GG.
You'd think that after all that's "become public" over the last few months (and years and decades and centuries) (inverted commas because if you'd been paying attention at all over the last few decades it was all very clear), this kind of tone-deaf, anti-Indigenous, racist bullshit wouldn't pass the editor's desk.... Wait, forget it, Jake. It's Postmedia.
posted by experiencing a significant gravitas shortfall at 9:24 PM on July 7, 2021 [6 favorites]
You'd think that after all that's "become public" over the last few months (and years and decades and centuries) (inverted commas because if you'd been paying attention at all over the last few decades it was all very clear), this kind of tone-deaf, anti-Indigenous, racist bullshit wouldn't pass the editor's desk.... Wait, forget it, Jake. It's Postmedia.
posted by experiencing a significant gravitas shortfall at 9:24 PM on July 7, 2021 [6 favorites]
This appointment is a hopeful sign and a good thing, but unfortunately I think the recent experience (and decision to not run for re-election) of young Inuk MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq is more typical of the national political scene in Canada:
“Every time I walk on House of Commons grounds, speak in these chambers, I’m reminded every step of the way (that) I don’t belong here,” she said during her speech. Since being elected, I expect to be stopped by security at my workplace. I’ve had security jog after me in hallways, nearly put their hands on me, or racial profile me as a member of Parliament.”
posted by Rumple at 11:27 PM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
“Every time I walk on House of Commons grounds, speak in these chambers, I’m reminded every step of the way (that) I don’t belong here,” she said during her speech. Since being elected, I expect to be stopped by security at my workplace. I’ve had security jog after me in hallways, nearly put their hands on me, or racial profile me as a member of Parliament.”
posted by Rumple at 11:27 PM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
I wish this woman could serve in a system of government that was worthy of HER and her people.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 4:54 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Sheydem-tants at 4:54 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
On the response from Quebec: When Canada was negotiating the repatriation of the constitution in the early 80s, Quebec was not very interested in participating in the process. Separatism was an issue, and separatists were in power at the time. So they didn't send representatives of their own to the negotiations, instead, they sent indigenous people, to raise indigenous issues. Mary Simon was one of them. I saw a great Facebook post from a Quebec nationalist (that I now can't find a link to) that recapped this said that if Mary Simon was good enough for René Lévesque (the premier at the time), then she was good enough for him.
posted by spindle at 2:01 PM on July 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by spindle at 2:01 PM on July 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
(in related, this is a bit of a digression, but I think that the previous Cdn Gov-General was an asshole boss who was forced out of her position on the basis of media frenzy about how awful her personality was... in a world where men who are asshole bosses are just accepted as tough-take-charge guys.)
posted by ovvl at 5:27 PM on July 8, 2021
posted by ovvl at 5:27 PM on July 8, 2021
Simon is a great choice, and is miles above the system that appointed her. I look forward to how she can deftly use the soft power of the office to advance Indigenous issues and reconciliation.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:01 PM on July 8, 2021
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:01 PM on July 8, 2021
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posted by Lawn Beaver at 12:04 PM on July 7, 2021 [7 favorites]