Features

 

 

Interview
with a Royal

Representative

J.J. McCullough
OP Columnist

 

he Honourable Iona Campagnolo

is Lieutenant Governor of the
Province of British Columbia, the
province’s Head of State, and per-
forms countless ceremonial duties
throughout BC. Prior to becoming
Lieutenant Governor, she was a
prominent face in the Canadian
Liberal Party for over a decade, serv-
ing as a cabinet minister as well as

party president.

She agreed to an interview with the

Other Press’ J.J. McCullough.

Though many Canadians overlook
the fact, Canada is a monarchy. We
have a Queen, Elizabeth the Second,

The gates are always wide open,
“from dawn to dusk” the plaque says,
and the grounds are full of curious
tourists as well as seniors out for their
morning stroll.

I walk down the winding path and
climb the stairs to the mansion’s front
door. After being buzzed in by securi-
ty, I am told to enter the main foyer
and take a seat. The house is breath-
taking from the inside—a testament
to colonial British architecture, with
high ceilings, chandeliers, and posh
red carpets. Everything is engraved or
touched up with gold paint.

The guard tells me to take a seat,
and I do, on a small cream sofa under

woman's portrait among them.

The hall ends with a framed photo-
graph of the Queen, the third I have
seen in the house so far. We enter a
large, yet not overly conspicuous
wooden door, and the aide, an obvi-
ous stickler for protocol, gives the for-
mal introductions.

“Your Honour, may I present J.J.
McCullough of Douglas College,”
she announces, making me feel like a
foreign duke. Her Honour arises
from her desk to shake my hand. I
bow my head slightly.

The Lieutenant Governor is a
short, elderly woman who carries her-
self with an elegance and sophistica-
tion that supercedes her small frame.
Her short hair is silver, and modishly
styled. She wears a bright yellow
turtleneck with a black sports jacket
with her crest of office emblazoned
on the right pocket.

Although the rest of the mansion
has a somewhat dated feel, Campa-
gnolo’s office is the height of moder-
nity. White, spacious, and meticu-
lously neat, it looks as clean and pro-
fessional as any CEO’s office. An

enormous picture window on the

May 200

Vancouver. Along the way she recog
nizes the excellence of her fello
British Columbians. “I’m so fortu
nate to be able to acknowledge, hor
our, and give medals to Britis
Columbians who spend their live
working to the betterment of societ
rather than their own benefit,” sh
says with great pride. “It’s a reassurin
and hopeful thing to see, and thz
part of the job is the highlight fc
me.”

Campagnolo’s office also carric
with it a specific constitutional job—
to represent the Queen to th
province of British Columbia. She }
quick to point out that the jo
description should not be taken to
literally, however. “When you say w
represent the Queen, it is more or les
in a legal sense,” she clarifies. “W
represent the Crown. The Crown rer
resents the rule of law that we liv
under together as citizens of a coun
try.” In a contemporary context, sh
thus sees her job as one of symbolisrr
“As far as possible, I try to symboliz
the Province of British Columbia, th
state of British Columbia, the peopl
of British Columbia, and try to mak

The house is breathtaking from the inside—a testament to colonial

entrusted by our constitution with
many sacred powers and legal prerog-
atives. Since unfortunate geographic
reality prevents the monarch from
maintaining a prominent face in
Canada, her duties have been divided
up among 14 Canadian vice-regal
Crown representatives, including a
Lieutenant Governor for each of
Canada’s ten provinces.

Iona Campagnolo was appointed
Lieutenant Governor of British
Columbia in 2001. Despite a decid-
edly less-than-visible role in day-to-
day governance, the office remains
well-funded and extremely presti-
gious. I decided to pay the Lieutenant
Governor a visit, to see first-hand
how BC’s 27th vice-regal representa-
tive functions in the 21st-century.

A short ferry trip to Victoria and I
arrive at the Lieutenant Governor's
house, located in a very posh area of
Victoria's most elite community. In a
neighborhood dominated by enor-
mous mansions, “Government
House” is by far the biggest, and is
surrounded by a vast 14-acre garden.

22 | OtherPress

an enormous portrait of Prince
Philip. The household is in prepara-
tion for a big event later that evening,
and decidedly blue-collar workers are
running vacuums and moving chairs
from one room to another.

After some time, a cheerful aide
approaches. “I will go tell Her
Honour youre here,” she says, and
walks off briskly. The woman sitting
on the other sofa (apparently some
sort of interior decorator) is
impressed, “You're lucky,” she says.
“She’s such a great woman.” The
Lieutenant Governor is somewhat of
a local celebrity in Victoria; everyone
I meet has nothing but glowing praise
and numerous proud anecdotes of
their personal encounters with her.

The aide returns and says the
Lieutenant Governor will see me
now. We walk down a chandelier-lit
hallway, lined with gold-framed oil
paintings of Campagnolo’s predeces-
sors—all elderly, white-bearded gen-
tlemen with moustaches, wearing
gold-braided, medal-laden colonial

uniforms. One day, there will be a

back wall exposes a breathtaking view
of Juan de Fuca Strait. I smile to see
her large desk features a computer
running Windows XP, noting a re-
occurring theme of old contrasting
with new.

As we sit down on two of her many
decorative couches, I ask if anything
has surprised her during the past two
and a half years of her five-year term.
“What is. surprising is the depth of
the need for a position that is outside
of traditional partisan politics,” she
says. Her voice is soft and calm, but
very intense and focused. She chooses
her words carefully. “As a Head of
State of your area I get to see people
of the community at their very best,
all the time, day after day.”

Like most contemporary Lieute-
nant Governors, Campagnolo’s job is
almost entirely ceremonial. She trav-
els across the province, visiting
schools, businesses, churches, clubs,
and organizations in cities and com-
munities of all sizes, from the smallest
elementary school in the rural north
to grand banquets in downtown

this beautiful house—this 14.
hectares of land—open to every
body,” she says, gesturing to the lay
ish surroundings.

Her keen awareness of symbolisr
led her to rename the mansior
Previously known by the rather unir
spired title of “Official Residence ¢
the Lieutenant Governor,” Campi
gnolo re-christened it with a moi
populist title, the “ceremonial hom
of all British Columbians.”

Campagnolo has not held electe
office since 1984, when she lost he
bid for re-election as a BC Member «
Parliament. Since then, she had bee
continually mentioned as a possib.
candidate for the post of BC
Lieutenant Governor. “Every tim
there was a new choice to be mac
my name would be run along in tk
newspaper, so I had put it out of m
mind as something not likely t
occur,” she says reflectively. “I wi
quite surprised when Prime Minist
Chretien called me.” Her nominatio
had to be approved by both Premik
Campbell and the federal prime mir