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Politics : Canadian Political Free-for-All -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greg or e who wrote (14071)	5/2/2010 7:52:57 PM
From: average joe	Respond to of 37214

'Bravo, Michaelle Jean': Ignatieff's GG endorsement raises eyebrows By: Stephen Thorne, THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA - Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is urging the prime minister to extend Michaelle Jean's term as Governor General when her five-year appointment expires in September. In an unusual break with the non-partisan tradition of all things GG, Igantieff issued a news release Sunday saying the Queen's Canadian secretary consulted him on a successor at Stephen Harper's request. Jean has served her country with "distinction and honour" and deserves Canada's thanks, Ignatieff said. "We just think somebody ought to get up and say: 'Bravo, Michaelle Jean; you've done a great job for Canada and in our view it would be great if you continue,"' Ignatieff told reporters after a Sunday speech. Within hours on Sunday, the topic of Ignatieff's comments was becoming political fodder - just the sort of thing critics of his public declaration warned would happen. The Prime Minister's Office issued an official statement saying Jean has done "an exceptional job representing Canada" and that she and Harper "have an excellent working relationship." The governor general is the Queen's representative in Canada, effectively - albeit largely ceremonially - the head of state. Appointed by the prime minister - formally by the Queen - her roles include the power to name a new government, a particularly sensitive issue in the current minority Parliament. "One of the governor general's most important responsibilities is to ensure that Canada always has a prime minister and a government in place that has the confidence of Parliament," says the GG's website. "In addition, the governor general holds certain reserve powers, which are exercised at his or her own discretion." Her powers were put to the test in December 2008 when she tossed Harper a lifeline and granted his request to prorogue Parliament while his Conservative minority was about to be toppled by an opposition coalition. "The governor general is non-partisan and non-political," says the website. Robert Finch, dominion chair of the Monarchist League of Canada, said Ignatieff's "peculiar" public endorsement risks politicizing the appointment process and compromising the GG's independence. "I'm a little bit blown away," Finch said in an interview. "It's certainly unusual for a leader of an Opposition - or anybody, actually - to go public with their suggestions as to who should be governor general. "It kind of opens the realm to politics and you don't want politics entering into the nomination process of the governor general." Finch suggested such a move can start a slippery slope, whereby political parties ultimately line up behind one candidate or another. Jean was appointed by former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin in 2005. The subject of her replacement has been widely discussed since Harper recently confirmed her term would not be extended. Several names have been floated as potential successors, including disabled-rights campaigner Rick Hansen; former defence chief John de Chastelain; Inuit leader Mary Simon and Reform party founder Preston Manning. A Facebook page has even sprung up where tens of thousands are advocating Montreal-born actor William Shatner - Star Trek's Captain Kirk - for the job. "It's time for Canada to boldly go where no country has gone before," it says. The traditional five-year terms of Canadian governors general have been extended on several occasions - by as much as two years. Among those who've been kept on were Roland Michener, Jeanne Sauve and Jean's predecessor, Adrienne Clarkson. Said Ignatieff's release: "Ms. Jean has done a superb job. I am calling on Stephen Harper to reconsider his decision to replace her." He said Canadians were "deeply moved by her strong and passionate performance" after the devastating earthquake in her Haitian homeland, which reportedly killed more than 200,000 people. Her role in bringing attention to Haiti and its people's plight has been "significant, profound and needs to be sustained," Ignatieff said. Jean has also been a powerful advocate for aboriginal and Arctic peoples, and a proud commander-in-chief who has stood alongside Canadian troops in Afghanistan, he added. "As a francophone woman who overcame great obstacles to get where she is today, and as the first black Canadian appointed as governor general, I can't imagine a better role model for young Canadians, particularly young girls," said Ignatieff. Finch said he can't imagine what Ignatieff's thinking. "It risks (undermining) the whole non-partisan nature of the Crown," he said. winnipegfreepress.com

To: Greg or e who wrote (14071)	8/28/2010 10:52:03 PM
From: average joe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37214

Mounties watched HIV-positive woman have sex in cellblock: reports Postmedia News August 28, 2010 10:01 PM KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Mounties in Kamloops are refusing to respond to media reports that an HIV-positive woman had a sexual encounter with another woman in an RCMP detachment holding cell as four officers and three municipal staff looked on and did nothing to stop them. Global News reported the incident took place Aug. 18, citing an anonymous source. The RCMP have confirmed seven people at the Kamloops detachment are now under investigation over a “cellblock incident” involving two people in custody on that date. The allegations are the just latest potential embarrassment for the national police force in British Columbia. RCMP said the internal investigation is focused on the “actions and or inactions” of four RCMP members and three municipal staff members. Police also confirmed that one of the two people from the cellblock is facing a criminal investigation. Global reported the two women had an “intimate encounter” in the cellblock for as long as an hour. RCMP Staff Sgt. Garry Kerr would not comment on the reports of sexual activity between the two people in the cell. “The only thing I can say right now is they’re all under Criminal Code investigation, obviously for criminal offences, and the RCMP members are also under investigation for what we refer to as code of conduct, which is like an internal system,” he said. “I’m really hopeful that there’s going to be more information forthcoming (this) week,” he added. No disciplinary action has been taken yet, although one officer has been removed from operational duties, Kerr said. Two of the municipal employees were guards that work in the cellblock, and the third was “doing other duties,” Kerr said. The RCMP detachment has about 12 to 15 temporary holding cells, Kerr said. The two people in custody were being held in the detachment “for a few hours.” The incident seemingly has the potential to be another blow the reputation of the Mounties in B.C. Earlier this month, an internal Vancouver Police Department review of the investigation of serial killer Robert Pickton placed the blame for not catching him years earlier largely on the shoulders of the RCMP. And, in June, former justice Thomas Braidwood released his two-year inquiry report into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, which found that the actions of the RCMP officer who Tasered him at the Vancouver International Airport shortly before his very public death were “shameful” and “not justified.” Also in June, a report on the probe into the 1985 Air India bombing, which claimed the lives of 331 people, accused the RCMP of serious failures in the prevention, and subsequent investigation, of the bombing. As well, in 2007 there was a public outcry after an inquiry found a Mountie should not be punished for fatally shooting Ian Bush in the back of the head while Bush was in custody in the northern B.C. community of Houston. The 22-year-old had arrested for having an open beer at a hockey game. montrealgazette.com