Monarchy keeps Canada from dividing into extremes: Governor General

OTTAWA – Gov. Gen. David Johnston strives to stay above the political fray — and he thinks that’s one of the most useful parts of his role.

Gridlock looms between the Senate and House of Commons over legislation to govern medical assistance in dying, raising questions about how far unelected senators should go against the will of an elected House.

They’re fighting, in part, over how to balance the will of Canadians with the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court in its decision last year that declared the current ban on doctor-assisted suicide a violation of the charter.

Senate versus House, House versus charter — a uniquely Canadian showdown that may require a referee, and who better than an ex-hockey player and legal scholar who calls himself the “representative of the spirit of the country.”

True to form, Johnston is not getting publicly involved.

“My general comment would bring me into the current debate and I shouldn’t be there,” he said Friday in a telephone interview from London, where he was on hand for official celebrations of the Queen’s 90th birthday.

“One of the interesting features about this job is that it’s truly non-political, and that’s one of the advantages of it, that the governor general is out of politics and stays out.”

The usefulness of that position was a hot luncheon topic Friday among Johnston, 14 other governors general and the Queen they represent.

Her actual birthday day is in April, but British tradition allows sovereigns to choose another day for public celebrations, which is Saturday.

The Queen and her viceregals gathered for lunch after a ceremony full of pomp and circumstance at St. Paul’s Cathedral, kicking off three days of festivities.

Johnston said the stability and serenity she brings to constitutional monarchies around the Commonwealth is essential.

That’s because having a head of state distinct from a head of government allows one to focus on the long term, while the other is — by virtue of election cycles — consumed more with the day-to-day business of running the country.

Canadians may be advocating for more power in the political process, be it in how senators are chosen or in how the electoral system itself is run, but there is still a role for the monarchy to play, Johnston said.

“If you look at the history of Canada, we’ve evolved step by step; we are a country that was born of evolution, never revolution as many countries have been. It’s avoided extremes,” he said.

“We’ve fashioned those institutions of government that seem to work well at any given point of time, and with respect to current issues, democracy will triumph.

“The will of the people will be reflected in one fashion or another.”

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