[BRIEF NOTE] The Jean Affair

[rfmcdonald]

Continuing from last night's topic, it struckl me as worthwhile to note that back in 2005, there was a controversy over the possibility that future (now current) Canadian Governor-General Michaëlle Jean harboured separatist sympathies.

Governor General designate Michaelle Jean ended her silence Wednesday on the recent allegations that she and her husband harboured separatist sympathies.

In a written statement from Rideau Hall, Jean affirmed her and Jean-Daniel Lafond's commitment to Canada.

"I want to tell you unequivocally that both he (husband Jean-Daniel Lafond) and I are proud to be Canadians and that we have the greatest respect for the institutions of our country," Jean said in a brief written statement released Wednesday.

"We are fully committed to Canada. I would not have accepted this position otherwise."

Jean also dismissed rumours that she and Lafond supported the Quebec independence cause.

"We are equally proud of the attachment to Quebec that we have always shown beyond any partisan considerations. Let me be clear: we have never belonged to a political party or the separatist movement," she says.

[. . .]

The controversy largely began after Quebec media reported on a documentary made 12 years ago by Jean's husband.

Critics pointed to a scene in the film where several people seated around a table raise their glasses to independence, including Jean and former FLQ member Pierre Vallieres.

A companion book to the film, written by Lafond, quotes Jean as saying that "one doesn't give independence; one takes it." It's unclear what her comments are referring to.

Quebec media also added fuel to the rumours by unearthing quotations made by Lafond from a book he wrote in 1993. In it, he says: "I applaud with both hands" Quebec independence and promises to be at "all St. Jean (Baptiste) parades."

Even before the film came to light, Jean had come under scrutiny after allegations were levelled last week that she and Lafond and were once known in Quebec cultural circles as sovereigntists.

Parti Quebecois leadership hopeful Pauline Marois didn't support or rebuff the allegations Wednesday, but she said people have a right to change their minds.

"You can make another evaluation of the situation and have another point of view and defend another point of view," Marois said in Montreal. "It's not for me to judge this."

I'm with Marois on this one. So far as Jean didn't (say) advocate terrorist violence or try to arrange for foreign military intervention--and most importantly, so long as she was presently committed to Canada, enough to serve the position fully and fairly--why shouldn't she have been considered a candidate for Canada's head of state?

Your thoughts, of course, are welcome.