Governor General David Johnston
When current Governor General David Johnston was sworn in October 1, 2010, he expressed his intention of focusing on family, education and volunteerism to create a caring Canada. Before holding this post, he was the President of the University of Waterloo.
Recently, the GG hosted a meeting of First Nations leaders, originally requested by Chief Theresa Spence. However, she was unable to attend, being under observation in hospital following a hunger strike.
Johnston's involvement in this current version of the longstanding dispute between the Canadian government and aboriginal nations highlights the importance of his stable and nonpartisan role as Head of State.
The Queen of Canada and her representative the Governor General hold historic importance for Canada's indigenous peoples. After all, many treaties between government and native bands were signed in the time of Queen Victoria, well before Canada had its own foreign policy separate from that of the Mother Country.
It was only in 1931 that the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster which allowed Canada (and other British Dominions) to be completely self-governing, except in one important respect. The 1867 British North America Act remained in place.
In fact, this changed only in 1982, when the Liberal government led by Pierre Trudeau finally patriated Canada's constitution. Even then, the job was done without the agreement or signature of Quebec.
This fact, along with the ongoing issues of aboriginal rights and the fact that the Canadian Senators are appointed and not elected, remains a major governing challenge to this day.