Check out this column from Charles Adler. He raises some important points on Michaelle Jean.
...Being someone who still has respect for certain members of the Ottawa press corps, I am surprised that they didn't or wouldn't ask that question. Having grown up in Quebec, where it was no secret that separatism's most reliable ally was the French CBC, paid for by taxpayers coast to coast, it would have been my very first question of Ms Jean.
Here's the question: "Ms Jean, In 1995, did you vote yes to sovereignty-association for Quebec?" If she had refused to answer, my follow-up would have been the following: "Ms Jean, it may be argued that you were a private citizen then. But you are not one now and you certainly won't be one the day you swear an oath to the Queen. Please tell us how you voted, and if you choose not to tell us,
is it reasonable to conclude that there is a distinct possibility that you voted against the Canada that you claim now to support? Do you think that will give some Canadians the impression that your loyalty has been purchased?"
If she still refused to answer that question, I would have wanted to ask the prime minister this question: "Does it make a difference to you how Ms Jean voted in 1995, and if does not, whose interests do you represent as prime minister? Is your primary loyalty to a political organization known as the Liberal party that wishes to rule a great country? Or do you, as prime minister, wish to represent the interests of all of Canada? If it is the latter, why don't you publicly ask Ms Jean right now where she stood in 1995?"
As I said before, nature abhors a vacuum. The Liberals should have been ready for these questions and taken care of the answers pre-emptively. How can you mess up something as easy as selecting a governor-general?
