Canada's Next Governor General Was Immigrant Child From Haiti

[dutchdemocrat]

Canada's Michaelle Jean Was Haiti Refugee

By PHIL COUVRETTE
Associated Press Writer

September 27, 2005, 4:06 AM EDT



MONTREAL -- Queen Elizabeth II's new representative in Canada is a refugee from Haiti -- the first black and only the third woman to hold the title of governor general.

Michaelle Jean, 48, is also one of the youngest to hold the office, the highest in Canada's constitutional order. It is a sensitive if largely ceremonial post, dedicated to promoting a national identity for a vast country with deep political and linguistic fault lines.

"I have come a long way," she said ahead of her swearing-in Tuesday. "My ancestors were slaves, they fought for freedom. I was born in Haiti, the poorest country in our hemisphere. I am a daughter of exiles driven from their home by a dictatorial regime."

SNIP

Martin has stood by her, calling her a talented woman who will bring fresh perspective to Rideau Hall, the governor general's residence in Ottawa.

"Born in Haiti, she knows what it is to come to a new country with little more than hope," Martin said when he announced her appointment in August. Jean's family fled the brutal regime of dictator Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier in Haiti when she was 11.

SNIP

"She is a reflection of that great quality of Canada, a country which focuses on equality of opportunity," he said. "She reflects what we are and what we want to be."

Haitian immigrants have been rejoicing in Quebec -- the French-speaking province that is now home to 100,000 immigrants or descendants of the Caribbean nation. Other immigrants see Jean, the 27th governor general, as a symbol of what they or their children can hope to achieve in this multicultural nation.

Though once a British subject, the governor general - who is also commander in chief of the Canadian Forces - has been Canadian since 1952.

Bills passed in Parliament do not become law until the governor general gives them so-called royal assent, but this is done on the advice of the prime minister and his Cabinet and rarely does the governor general dissent.

Jean will also hold special powers to promote stability in times of emergency.

Outgoing Governor General Adrienne Clarkson was asked to extend her term as the country grappled with the uncertainty of Martin's minority government earlier this year.

SNIP

The road to Rideau Hall has been full of roadblocks and challenges for Jean.

The daughter of an abusive father, she also survived cancer. Devastated by her inability to conceive a child, she and her husband adopted one of their own.

Jean became one of the first black reporters at Radio-Canada, the CBC's French-language television service, and went on to become a popular anchor and narrator for documentaries.

Most Canadians believe Jean will proudly represent their nation, which was built by immigrants and is today one of the most diverse in the world. Still, as she rises to the highest office on Tuesday, demonstrators plan to protest and demand an end to what they see as one of the last vestiges of their British colonial past.

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http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB7EOS14EE.html

[Kagemusha]

1. Technically Canadians ARE British subjects.

Just to correct that mischaracterization. It may be more and more of a technicality, but the position of Governor-General is that of overseeing the Queen's subjects in Canada, including the elected government thereof. The term "subject" is much, much broader than that of "citizen" due to how the Commonwealth is structured.

[dutchdemocrat]

2. Hmm...

Legally Canadians were British subjects until the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 - when Canadian citizenship was introduced.

Up until that point, Canadian nationals had been legally defined as British subjects, both in Canada and abroad. After, they were recognized as Canadian citizens.

Canadians do not have the status of British subject: Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (BS/CUKC) as such countries as Anguilla or Bermuda for instance.

Legally the term was redefined in 1981 when the Brits passed the British Nationality Act of 1981.

From Wikipedia

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/British_subject

Prior to 1983, when the 1981 Act came into force, the term "British subject" was synonymous with the term "Commonwealth citizen". A British subject was any person who was:


a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies;

a citizen of any other Commonwealth country;

and

one of a limited number of "British subjects without citizenship".


In the third category were mainly people born during British rule in the Republic of Ireland, India and Pakistan (all of which gained independence before 1949, when the status of Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies was introduced) who did not acquire citizenship of their country or any other Dominion (in the case of those born in India and Pakistan), or who applied after 1949 for restoration of their British subject status (for those connected with Ireland).

Hence, from 1949 to 1982, a person born in London, England, would have been a British subject and Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, while someone born in Sydney, Australia, would have been a British subject and Citizen of Australia. Not all Commonwealth countries used the term "British subject", most preferring the term "Commonwealth citizen".

Since 1983

In 1983, Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies became either British Citizens, British Dependent Territories Citizens or British Overseas Citizens, and the use of the term "British subject" was discontinued for all persons who fell into these categories, or who had a national citizenship of any other part of the Commonwealth. The category of "British subjects" now includes those people formerly known as "British subjects without citizenship", and no other.

Although the laws of some Commonwealth countries such as Australia continued to use the old term "British subject" instead of "Commonwealth citizen" for a few years after 1983, the 1981 Act provides that as far as UK law is concerned, no person shall be a British subject except as provided by the Act.

The status of British subject cannot now be transmitted by descent, and will become extinct when all existing British subjects are dead.

[iverglas]

3. ta

It's bad enough when the yanks hereabouts spout the nonsense.

The Queen is the head of state of Canada, by virtue of the Canadian constitution. Canadians are not anyone's subjects, nor does the Queen have any but a few grandfathered subjects left anywhere, as you point out. And Canadians are no more subjects of the Queen than USAmericans are subjects of George W Bush ... but hmm, I guess if it were possible to have negative-number subject-hood, we'd be less subjects ...

[Maple]

4. Um no, we're not

And it's not a technicality either. We are Canadian citizens.

We are not subjects of any kind, nor is that the GGs job.

Nor does it have anything to do with the Commonwealth

Where does this crap come from anyway??

[HEyHEY]

6. No, symbolically we are

[getmeouttahere]

5. I'm watching an old tape of an episode of "Grands Reportage"

with the new G.G. as host...this dates back to '99 (some friends used to tape French Canadian TV for me while I was taking French classes).

For anyone who wondered, she pronounces her name 'mick - eye - el'

She will be a great asset and representative for Canada.