te
rasum'
November
2004
1
Departures
drienne
Clarkson:
frustrating
but
Necessary
m
.
.
.
.
.oxanne
McLeod
ij
On
Wednesday
October
6,
the
Governor
General
of
Canada,
Her
E04,
cellency
the
Right
Honourable
Adrienne
larkson,
came
to
Prince
George.
She
participated
a
panel
discussion
at
UNBC,
discussing
how
spe-
Northern
B.C.
is.
The
panel,
while
made
up
of
wonderful,
educated
people,
was
basically
point-Bess.
The
issues
they
talked
about
were
the
same
ings
you
hear
about
in
many
social
science
class
ed
in
everyday
life
for
that
matter.
What
are
people
in
Northern
B.C.
worried
about?
What
do
we
rant?
What
should
we
do
with
the
resources
that
Be
have?
Do
we
realize
how
special
we
are?
These
questions
idn't
really
need
to
discussed.
The
iovernor
General
d
all
of
the
mem-
bers
of
the
panel
Iready
know
what
wizens
of
Northern
C.
care
about
Regality
doesn
t
mean
much
to
most
of
us.
We
prefer
productivity,
action
and
honesty
end
what
issues
are
significant.
No
new
ideas
or
formation
were
introduced.
The
discussion
was,
basically,
a
waste
of
time.
It
felt
like
Her
Excellency
figured
she
should
show
her
face
in
Northern
B.C.,
lut
didn't
want
to
do
anything
too
useful
or
too
stren-
pous.
While
it
was
nice
for
us
northerners
to
feel
connected
to
tradition,
Central
Canada
and
the
fed-
ral
government,
it
was
superficial
with
no
real
sub
stance,
like
a
cheap
one-night
stand.
(But
then
again,
should
we
expect
anything
more
ram
Adrienne
Clarkson?
According
to
CTV.ca,
her
liplomatic
trip
to
Russia,
Finland
and
Iceland
last
all
was
supposed
to
cost
$1
million,
but
the
federal
pvernment
had
to
cancel
the
second
leg
of
the
trip
because
Her
Excellency,
and
her
enormous
mtourage,
had
already
"racked
up
a
tab
of
$5.3
mil-
Bon."
After
her
return,
"MP's
called
on
her
to
justify
he
trip.
She
refused
to
appear
before
a
committee
answer
the
allegations
of
overspending."
Is
it
just
irne,
or
does
she
seem'
like
a
kid
who
knows
nothing
vil;
Monkey
say!
write
for
theS
Forum!
turescncsncnil0cfcli
about
budgeting,
while
the
government
is
like
a
perplexed
parent
who
doesn't
know
what
they
should
do..
.should
they
cut
up
her
credit
cards,
make
her
work
her
debt
off,
or
ground
her?
Or,
for
the
sake
of
tradition
and
honour,
will
they
ignore
the
problem,
reasoning
that
it
is
the
price
we
have
to
pay
for
such
a
noble
and
regal
diplomat?
Regal.
This
is
the
word
oft
used
to
describe
Her
Excellency.
Regal,
defined
by
my
trusty
Oxford
Canadian
Dictionary,
means
"of,
like,
or
fit
for
a
monarch."
Is
this
the
most
important
quality
a
Governor
General
should
demonstrate?
After
all,
when
was
the
last
time
a
monarch
really
contributed
to
worldly
affairs?
I
don't
recall
the
Queen
of
England
doing
anything
too
spectacular
for
world
peace
or
diplomatic
relations.
Does
Madame
Clarkson
really
contribute
to
the
good
of
Canada
and
improve
our
relations
with
other
countries,
or
is
her
main
purpose
to
be.
a
regal
symbol
for
Canada?
Regality
doesn't
mean
much
to
most
of
us.
We
prefer
productivity,
action
and
honesty.
Before
coming
to
Prince
George,
Her
Excellency
visited
Vancouver's
lower
eastside.
According
to
CBC
website,
instead
of
actually
meeting
with
people
who
lived
in
the
area
or
visiting
homeless
shelters
or
seeing
the
squalid
conditions
most
of
the
residents
live
in,
she
merely
"visited
the
city's
safe
injection
site,
a
dental
clinic
and
a
bottle
recycling
depot."
A
bottle
recycling
depot?
How
does
a
bottle
recycling
depot
define
the
lower
eastside
and
the
problems
of
the
area?
And
the
dental
clinic?
Was
she
investigating
the
dental
perils
of
being
homeless
and
destitute?
Also,
the
whole
time
she
was
on
this
tour,
she
was
surrounded
by
police
officers
and
politicians,
so
she
didn't
even
interact
with
the
people
who
actually
lived
there
and
therefore
didn't
get
an
accurate
view
of
life
there.
Another
waste
of
money?
I
think
so.
Oh,
but
there's
good
news.
Madame
Clarkson
isn't
going
anywhere
for
at
least
another
year.
Prime
Minister
Paul
Martin
extended
her
term
a
year,
so
we'll
get
to
hear
more
great
stories
about
Adrienne's
antics
until
September
of
'2005.
Ok,
I
guess
I'm
I
-a
--N
i
J
being
a
little
mean
here.
Even
though
her
spending
is
atrocious
and
her
regality
sometimes
frustrating,
she
does
serve
a
purpose.
With
the
Liberal
government
only
having
a
minority,
a
vote
of
confidence
could
throw
the
government
into
upheaval.
This
is
where
Her
Excellency's
real
purpose
comes
into
light;
she
will
be
the
one
that
Paul
Martin
turns
to
if
he
loses
a
vote
of
confidence.
She
will
be
the
one
who
decides
the
fate
of
our
government.
The
Prime
Minister
extended
her
term
because
she
is
very
familiar
with
the
Canadian
government
and
would
therefore
know
what
to
do
in
case
of
a
political
emergency.
So,
despite
all
of
her
faults,
there
are
times
when
we
need
her.
While
her
role
in
.ffoW,
AL
v.
!
-
BB::,l'":i
TEW
our
country
is
generally
small,
there
are
moments
when
her
presence
is
vital.
We
might
not
always
agree
with
her
actions
or
her
attitude,
but
it's
something
we'll
only
have
to
put
up
with
until
next
September.
It's
one
of
those
situations
where
you
B&SKi'm
WMah
Tou
Ur
V
f
f-XLlXZ),
sv.
x
J
I
J
can't
live
with
her,
but
you
can't
live
without
her
either.
'
'
"
-
KNA
-
A
t
Cartoon
by
Stan
Nelson