GG: Not My First Choice

I like the current GG, she publicly portrayed a classic style, a return to a smaller sense of entitlement and arrogance that was the norm with political appointments. Paul Martin could have made a worse selection.

David Johnston completed his university studies with distinction at three institutions: Harvard, Cambridge, and Queen's University.Following professorial appointments in the Faculties of Law atQueen's and then Toronto, in 1974 he moved to Western as Dean of the Faculty of Law.

In 1979, he accepted the appointment of Principal of McGill University,an office he held for three terms until 1994. During his tenureas Principal, he initiated and succeeded in the most ambitious fund-raising exercise in McGill's history. He has been a particularly active scholar with emphasis on newly emerging and cross disciplinary subjects. He has published ten books and numerous public reports and scholarly articles. His first book was Computers and Law and his last Cyberlaw. Several years ago he co-authored with his eldest daughter Debbie, a lawyer with the Federal Department of Justice, Getting Canada Online: Understanding the Information Highway. 

On stepping down as Principal, Professor Johnston returned to the Faculty of Law and taught in the Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law. His specializations and research interests include securities regulation, corporation law, public policy, information technology law, and intellectual property law and he has published five books,three major government reports and a number of articles in these areas over the last four years.

Retired Lt. Major General Lewis Mackenzie was my favourite as the next GG. He was born in Truro, Nova Scotia and like Roderick George Toombs (2nd choice) was a hands on professional.
 

Since 1956, the United Nations has conducted more peacekeeping missions in Africa than on all the other continents combined. Further evidence that the UN has paid close attention to Africa is the fact that more UN peacekeepers have been killed in Africa than on any other continent. Distasteful as it is to admit, the members of the UN, including Canada, turned their backs on Rwanda because there were no perceived national self-interests at stake. The Security Council has been sitting on its hands for years regarding the situation in Darfur because of the national self-interests (oil) of at least two, and perhaps three, of the Security Council's veto-holding permanent five members (France, China and Russia). 

 

A Globe Piece written by him on May 19, 2005 Roméo, Roméo, wherefore art thou partisan?  honestly pointed out the REALITY practiced by each nation. Each nation puts forward their own self-interest ahead of empty rhetoric repeated by the Press and activitsts who demand, talk about World Peace and a Utopia on earth.

 

Appointing Roderick George Toombs, born in Saskatoon, would have been a break from the norm in dealing with the political appointments. The theatre of the absurd could use someone with the talents of  Rowdy Piper in knocking some heads of these politicians in reminding them to leave the soap opera antics to the real professionals.

 

Thinking outside the box and providing some comic relief to Ottawa may be too radical for many of the political class but can you imagine the entrance of Roderick in opening Parliament?