Our beleaguered prime minister found himself viewed in a less than favourable light in front of the cameras while filling sandbags (for 15 minutes) for flood mitigation in Ottawa. Yes, he was wrong to tell a volunteer that he should listen to him, and then call him unneighbourly and unfriendly, but besides that, there are other optics problems that have to be considered. As Neil Godbout wrote very well in the April 30 edition of the Citizen, how a politician can show support for disaster victims is a difficult thing to get right.
The temptations are too great to do grandstanding and politicking. Using the disaster to showcase one of his primary campaign platform issues around climate change, makes his efforts to support the flood victims appear politically motivated, even if it wasn't. Disasters are not a time for politics, they are a time when the policies, character, and governance capabilities of elected officials are evident by how well everything works. The time for partisan politics is after, when things return to normal and danger has passed.
If only we could have someone from government who was non-partisan, of no party affiliation, who could represent the good will of all Canadians toward those suffering, so that we could avoid these difficulties. Someone who could represent us without being charged with politicking at the people's expense. Someone who could encourage the volunteers by bringing the media's attention to their hard work. Someone to bring publicity to the issue without being accused of seeking out the camera for their own political gain. Someone who can bring Canadians together in times of trouble.
Wait, we actually do. Our Queen's representative, the Governor General. We have had Governor Generals since Confederation. Currently, our Governor General is former astronaut Julie Payette. Officially, her roles include carrying out constitutional duties, serving as commander-in-chief, representing Canada at home and abroad, encouraging excellence, and bringing Canadians together.
That sounds strikingly like who needs to show up to disasters. Let our elected officials, like the PM, meet with local government officials to work out the kinks in how to best help them. Let our Governor General represent us to bring media attention and a bit of encouragement to exhausted volunteers. I am not a huge fan of this Governor General, as she has not been as discreet as she should be, but nevertheless, she represents me, you, us all.
Before I finished this column, I took a quick look at the GG's schedule. It looks quite low key; handing out medals, a trip to Rwanda, and such. I went to the official website and found she was in New Brunswick and Ottawa to visit flooded areas. No media reports on her visit, though. Too bad. She is us, whether Conservative, Liberal, PPC, or Green, and I would like to see more of her, and less of our PM, in these situations.
Oh, one more thing! Guess who taught me to love the monarchy? My mother, who sometimes said the solutions to problems are right under our nose.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, and to all who have moms!
