To hear it in the press, it would seem like Governor General Michaelle Jean was called out on the carpet by a furious PMO who had been monitoring her speeches.

It's not quite that dramatic, and I wonder if the media is pumping this up a bit.

Who is the Head of State of Canada?  Queen Elizabeth II, in her role as Queen of Canada.

So what is the job of the Governor General?  To be her vice-regal representative when the Queen is not in the country.

And the Prime Minister?  He is Head of Government.

There.  Was that so hard?  But then sometimes people get a bit confused.  Apparently Michaelle Jean needed a civics refresher:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sent a clear message to Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean that she should not call herself Canada's head of state.

"Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of Canada and Head of State," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement issued to Canwest News Service on Thursday. "The Governor General represents the Crown in Canada."

The extraordinary reminder from the country's head of government to its top viceregal representative follows an uproar over Jean's use of the phrase "head of state" when referring to herself during a speech in Paris on Monday.

The story makes it sound like the PMO started texting her BlackBerry with "STOP!" and "YOU'RE WRONG"!" and "IBYT2EPE" (the last being some undecipherable short form that the kids like to use).

But read the story.  It took four days for the PMO to respond.

Hey, it's a slow news day.

Michaelle Jean was labouring under a misunderstanding.  It happens.  She misspoke. twice, and was called out on it by the Monarchist' League, who in turn contacted the press.  The press went to the PMO for comment, and the PMO addressed the problem.  Since the press brought it to the attention of the PMO, the press was informed of the message sent to Rideau Hall.

Newsworthy?  Sure.  If nothing else, it gives everyone an excuse to refresh their understanding on the roles of the different personages in our system of government.

But it's also a tempest in a teacup.  Pick up that tea, toast the good health of our Queen and Sovereign, congratulate the Governor General on the bang-up job she has been doing in her role as vice-regal representative, and move on.

Really, there isn't much to see here.  The people in the media should just chill.  I bet there will be something really exciting in a day or two.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 11:45 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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