GG Louise Arbour, Champion of Justice

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney walks with Louise Arbour, who he named as Canada's next governor general, in Ottawa on Tuesday. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Take away from me the noise of your songs;

    I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like water
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

                       Amos 5: 23024 NRSVue

I find the office of Governor General something of a head-scratcher. Why does Canada still need a GG in a time when many citizens are indifferent to the monarchy and with it the role of the Crown's representative. I do think that most of our Governors General have deported themselves with dignity, wisdom, and grace. I imagine the majority of those who still pay attention continue to scratch their heads over Julie Payette, but you can't win 'em all. Mary Simon held her head high despite the criticism regarding her lack of French and the racism she endured because of her Indigeneity was relentless. 

I'm intrigued by yesterday's announcement of Louise Arbour as the new Governor General. She is highly respected as a jurist, not just in Canada but around the world. She served on Canada's Supreme Court but I was more aware of her work prosecuting war criminals such as former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milošević for crimes against humanity after his involvement in the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo.

She also led the tribunal that prosecuted high-level perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide saying: "National, ethnic, racial or religious intolerance is the plague of the modern world," Arbour has never been afraid to speak the truth and as UN human rights commissioner she was critical of Israel's actions against the people in Gaza during a 2008 conflict with Hamas, not a popular opinion with the Conservative government of that time. 

Reading about her human rights stance on behalf of refugees, immigrants, and those of different religions paints an impressive picture of a fearless person. 

Arbour attended a convent school as a young person and was known for her irreverence on the school newspaper. I have no idea whether she a person of faith today but as a Christian I admire her commitment to the plight of others, a biblical and prophetic outlook. We'll see where her honesty takes her during the next five years.