# Governor General of Canada resigns after “scathing” report on workplace harrassment **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141 "2021-01-21T21:27:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/1 "2021-01-21T21:27:52Z")
In space, no-one can hear you scream at subordinates … > **[Gov. Gen. Julie Payette resigning amid ‘scathing’ Rideau Hall workplace review...](https://globalnews.ca/news/7590462/julie-payette-rideau-hall-toxic-workplace-probe/amp/)** > > The independent review of workplace abuse allegations against Julie Payette paints a damning picture of the Queen's representative. > **[Independent firm completes review into claims of 'toxic' environment at...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rideau-hall-governor-general-payette-1.5861952)** > > An independent consulting firm has completed its review into claims of a toxic environment and workplace harassment at Rideau Hall, and sources say the report is scathing. ---
**Author:** ![FriendlyCurmudgeon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friendlycurmudgeon/32/5786_2.png) [@FriendlyCurmudgeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendlyCurmudgeon)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/2 "2021-01-21T21:38:50Z")
Good. Odd. A simple back ground check with her previous employers likely would of revealed some issues, and that whole beating the shit out of her ex-husband/boyfriend thing. I worked for a bully once, then one day something clicked I no longer cared about my job which led to me no longer caring about her position or the authority she held. When she called me into a room to rip me a new over nothing, she had pulled in her boss as well who she also bullied. I let her have it and it felt great. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/3 "2021-01-21T21:41:25Z")
The chief justice of the Supreme Court would fill in? I did not know that. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/4 "2021-01-21T22:36:29Z")
Payette was a terrible choice from the get go; it was more or less immediately apparent that she was hopelessly unsuited to the role. It is, to be honest, something of a mystery as to why she accepted the job, since she seems to have hated it. It was a weird, unforced error by Trudeau. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/5 "2021-01-22T00:00:05Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It was a weird, unforced error by Trudeau ISTM that the liberals have had a bad habit of choosing their last few GGs based in glamour and/or various other criteria. Next time Trudeau should choose and recommend based on job requirements and merit. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/6 "2021-01-22T01:15:05Z")
Let me get this right … some Canadians are NOT unfailingly polite? 😇 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/7 "2021-01-22T01:17:29Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > The chief justice of the Supreme Court would fill in? I did not know that. Yep. It’s set out in the _[Letters Patent Constituting the Office of the Governor General,](https://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/LettersPatent.html)_ issued by King George VI in 1947: > [@](#): > > **VIII.** And We do hereby declare Our pleasure to be that, in the event of the death, incapacity, removal, or absence of Our Governor General out of Canada, all and every the powers and authorities herein granted to him shall, until Our further pleasure is signified therein, be vested in Our Chief Justice for the time being of Canada, (hereinafter called Our Chief Justice) or, in the case of the death, incapacity, removal, or absence of Our Chief Justice, then in the Senior Judge for the time being of the Supreme Court of Canada, then residing in Canada and not being under incapacity; such Chief Justice or Senior Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, while the said powers and authorities are vested in him, to be known as Our Administrator. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/8 "2021-01-22T01:48:21Z")
The feds tried to transfer her a couple of time, but she came back each time. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/9 "2021-01-22T01:58:54Z")
> [@King George VI in 1947](#): > > … Our Governor General … Our Chief Justice … Our Administrator. 😃 The Australian Founding Fathers were inscrutable enough to constitutionally slip that one past the unsuspecting Poms. The Letters Patent for the Commonwealth of Australia refer only to **the** Governor General ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/10 "2021-01-22T02:44:01Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Let me get this right … some Canadians are NOT unfailingly polite? 😇 Every so often one slips through to some low joint like Rideau Hall. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/11 "2021-01-22T02:48:26Z")
An article from last summer, when the story broke: > **[Gov. Gen. Payette has created a toxic climate of harassment and verbal abuse...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/julie-payette-governor-general-harassment-allegations-1.5657397)** > > Gov. Gen. Julie Payette has created a toxic environment at Rideau Hall by harassing employees to the point where some have been reduced to tears or have left the office altogether, sources tell CBC News. > [@](#): > > CBC News spoke to a dozen sources with direct knowledge of the office during Payette’s mandate. They spoke on the condition they not be named because they feared they could lose their jobs or their careers could suffer. Many of the sources are still in the public service, while others are former Rideau Hall employees. > > The sources say Payette has yelled at, belittled and publicly humiliated employees. They accuse her of throwing tantrums in the office and, on one occasion, tossing an employee’s work aside and calling it “shit.” > > On a single day, multiple people were seen leaving Payette’s office with tears in their eyes after private meetings with the Governor General, said one source. In another instance, a staff member was spotted crying in their car. > > “She screams and humiliates staff in front of others,” said a former employee. “It’s verbal abuse. In no world is it OK to treat people that way.” > > Payette’s secretary and longtime friend, Assunta Di Lorenzo, is also accused of harassing employees and calling some “lazy” and “incompetent.” > … > During meetings with staff, sources said, Payette has been known to “grill” employees on files unrelated to the meeting topic. > > “There was always that level of criticism and I would say in almost every meeting somebody was berated,” said one former employee. “There was, I’ll go as far to say, a victim at every meeting.” > > At the beginning of her mandate, sources said, Payette also put staff on the spot by quizzing them about outer space — asking them to name all the planets in the solar system, for example, or to state the distance between the sun and the moon. > > “She loves these gotcha moments,” said one government source. “She’s just smarter than you and she likes to let you know that.” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/12 "2021-01-22T03:35:30Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > The feds tried to transfer her a couple of time, but she came back each time. Transfer who to where? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/13 "2021-01-22T04:30:18Z")
I really like Trudeau but his list of blunders is really becoming embarrassing. This woman should never have even been considered. I was looking through the list of recent past GGs and most of them were exemplary people, like David Johnston who immediately preceded this vicious creature. Interesting factoid: it was not until 1952 that GGs were Canadian citizens; until then, they were brought over from the UK – a procession of Lords, Dukes, Earls, and Viscounts. Up until 1931, they were picked by the British monarch. Any aristocratic twit in good standing with the King or Queen could be appointed to be the ceremonial Head of State of Canada. There were probably some imperious hotheads back then, too, but it’s not something that should ever be tolerated today, especially in Canada where it’s so contrary to our culture. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/14 "2021-01-22T04:34:07Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Up until 1931, they were picked by the British monarch. Any aristocratic twit in good standing with the King or Queen could be appointed to be the ceremonial Head of State of Canada. They were appointed by the British monarch on advice of the British government, not by the monarch in their own bat. It was very much a political appointment, although appointees all had high social standing. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/15 "2021-01-22T05:04:06Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > They were appointed by the British monarch on advice of the British government, not by the monarch in their own bat. **[Per Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_General_of_Canada#Selection)**, that turns out to be correct, thank you. **[The official GG site](https://www.gg.ca/en/governor-general/former-governors-general)** is actually rather misleading in stating that “Until 1931, Canada’s governor general was chosen by the Sovereign. This changed when the Canadian government began to make recommendations for the position”. In fact the GG technically is still appointed by the Sovereign, and what’s really changed is that the recommendation comes from the PM of Canada and not the British Cabinet. ---
**Author:** ![FriendlyCurmudgeon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friendlycurmudgeon/32/5786_2.png) [@FriendlyCurmudgeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendlyCurmudgeon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/16 "2021-01-22T10:15:51Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I really like Trudeau but his list of blunders is really becoming embarrassing. This woman should never have even been considered. He survived tossing out JWR because she wouldn’t cut a deal for some crooks from his province, and wearing black face more times than he can remember. This is the Kathleen Wynne effect, he’ll be around for awhile no matter what he does. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/17 "2021-01-22T13:45:53Z")
From the CBC News article: > [@](#): > > Payette’s secretary and longtime friend, Assunta Di Lorenzo, is also accused of harassing employees and calling some “lazy” and “incompetent.” Not to defend a toxic work environment, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the governor-general’s office was not the job of choice for driven, ambitious civil servants. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/18 "2021-01-22T19:25:28Z")
I can see why Trudeau thought it would be cool to appoint a female former astronaut for the “wow” factor, but clearly she should have been better vetted. I suspect he won’t make the same mistake twice. What’s the likely timetable for her replacement being appointed? And I assume the Chief Justice won’t be expected to make quite so many ceremonial appearances while filling in? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/19 "2021-01-22T19:38:30Z")
It’s no so much the ceremonial appointments, as that we’ve got a minority government on our hands. Minority governments can fall at any time. Then the PM has to decide if he will advise the Administrator (ie the Chief Justice) to call an election, or try to reconstitute his government somehow, or seek a prorogation like Harper did… REALLY do not want the Chief Justice involved in that kind of messy political situation. So I’m guessing on a quick appointment by HM, on the advice of the PM. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141/20 "2021-01-22T20:18:42Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Not to defend a toxic work environment, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the governor-general’s office was not the job of choice for driven, ambitious civil servants. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I can see why Trudeau thought it would be cool to appoint a female former astronaut for the “wow” factor, but clearly she should have been better vetted. Yeah, sounds like it was a checkbox decision where consideration of one set of political optics got all the attention over others. From what I read, apparently those prior employers all let her quit on her own terms with the classic “and we won’t mention any of it” understanding. Then again one can also imagine that it could have been seen as a case of _“oh, an intense, hard-driving woman, people will say she’s bitchy, how typical”_. (It does makes me wonder… why would an “alpha” type who needs to assert dominance accept a post that – in the public perception if not in fact – if all is going normally mostly consists of looking awake and signing what they put in front of you? I know if I’m ever given a “just sit here and read this” sinecure, I’d be the chillest laid-back figurehead who ever figureheaded.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-general-of-canada-resigns-after-scathing-report-on-workplace-harrassment/931141.md?page=2)