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| Richard Wagner: A model "almost GG" |
Now we have the installation of Ms. Mary Simon (formerly OC, OQ and some Jubilee Medals), who is now a Companion of the Order of Canada (CC), Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM) and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (COM), and Her Excellency, has decided to just freelance on the wearing of medals. Oh it is so sad to see the new Governor General disobeying the rules, rules which she is supposed to uphold. Following the ignominious example of Julie Payette at her installation in 2017, she has opted to just wear her Order of Canada and not her commemorative medals. We are off to an inauspicious start. Starting her tenure breaking the medal wearing rules means either she has followed the Payette route and hired a bunch of friends to advise her, there is no one left at Rideau Hall to advise a Governor General, or after three years of constant mental beatings by Julie Payette, the advisors have all lost their ability to advise OR most worryingly, that the new Governor General just doesn't care.
So what was she doing wrong? Well we are delighted that she is wearing her CC on a bow, but where are her commemorative medals -- those humble little gongs that several hundred thousand Canadians have earned since Canada 125 in 1992? Given how long Her Excellency has been in the Order of Canada she should at least have the Golden Jubilee Medal 2002, and Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012? For more than 300k a year you think you would be able to at least pay attention to these sorts of details.
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| Payette and her benefactor Justin Trudeau, 2017 Not wearing her commemorative medals, just like Ms. Simon on installation day 2021 |
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| First day on the job, Mary Simon already breaking the rules. |
Is it such a big thing to ask that a Governor General wear their orders, decorations and medals correctly? There are lots of good current examples of people weaning them correctly. Take for instances, the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, The Hon. Russell Mirasty, SOM, MSM. He gets how to wear his medals correctly, why can't the Governor General?
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| A model medal wearer: Lieutenant Governor of Saskatcewan Russell Mirasty |
We can only hope that such media luminaries as Colby Cosh, who referenced our blog in an article in the January 22, 2021 National Post, is paying attention to the "protocol nerds" (his phrase), who are flagging yet another potential rule ignoring Head of State.
Now that we have a Governor General, even if she did wear her medals wrong on her big day, we can hope she will correct the offence. We can also hope she will get to work and promptly strip Julie Payette of the undeserved honours of the Order of Canada, Order of Military Merit and Order of Merit of the Police Forces. The sooner we can forget all that happened between October 2017 and January 2021 the better.
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ReplyDeleteStrange how pretty much every previous GG (aside from Payette) managed to wear their medals correctly at their installations. Next we will get a foreboding note that this is a "miro-aggression" to dare to correct a glaring error.
ReplyDeleteHer Excellency was appointed to do a job, and has a massive staff and earns over 300,000$ a year. She should be figuring this out... or following the blog. Do you really think that a letter to the Governor General explaining how she should wear her medals would get through to her? Canada has a much bigger challenge to navigate the damage done to our institutions by Mme. Payette! We wish her well, but there should be no "free passes" when you hold public office.
I am sure that there is more than one guide on protocol, the manner in which to wear medals being one, that every GG receives. All their position is, is protocol. While the new GG comes from a civilian background, she has served as an ambassador for Canada to Denmark and should be aware of the importance of protocol. That being said, the failure at this point to observe proper protocol with the wearing of medals should be jointly shared between the new GG and the person on her staff whose duty it is to make sure she is aware of this.
ReplyDeleteSo...here's the truth about the GC and the medals. As a representative of the Queen the GC is obligated to wear certain medals that have not been earned. The GC is given 4 aide ed camps to ensure that she/he is properly prepared for each appearance. These aide de camps are usually serving military officers but unfortunatly they are often young Captains that are fast tracking the rank structure and can't even wear their own uniform correctly. They will never correct the GC for fear that they will be dismissed and be slow listed for advancement. I've spoken with many aide de camps during my 32 years of service and sadly...that's just the way it is. What's needed is a crusty old sergeant major to set the GC straight without the worry of reprise.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the GG may be an arguable exception, not wearing medals you are entitled to wear is hardly in the same league as wearing medals you are not entitled to wear, or wearing them incorrectly. There are plenty of the latter two types on whom to focus your efforts.
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