Politics This Morning: Julie Payette resigns as governor general after scathing probe into claims of workplace harassment

Happy Friday, After several months dogged by fresh allegations of workplace harassment, Julie Payette has decided to resign as governor general. Protocol has it that Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner will fill in for the former astronaut in the interim until her replacement is named. The timing of her resignation coincides with the completion of an independent review into the workplace culture at Rideau Hall that reportedly appear to corroborate what several former and current employees serving there have alleged to be a pattern of bullying and harassment. According to The Globe and Mail, the review would likely have made it difficult for Ms. Payette to have stayed on. In a statement announcing her exit, Ms. Payette said that, "while no formal complaints or official grievances were made during her tenure," she has to come the conclusion that "a new Governor General should be appointed. Canadians deserve stability in these uncertain times." Ms. Payette added that she would be at the disposal of her successor. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that her replacement would be named in "due course." He added, "today's announcement represents an opportunity to renew the leadership team at Rideau Hall in an effort to address workplace concerns that employees raised during the review." The PM had previously long defended her, even as the allegations and calls for her resignation mounted, saying in September she's been an "excellent" governor general. He told reporters at the time that he would wait until the third-party review, initiated in July, was completed. Her chief aide, Assunta Di Lorenzo, has also reportedly resigned and retained the firm of high-powered lawyer Marie Henein, who has previously been retained by now-disgraced former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi and former vice-admiral Mark Norman. Apart from facing claims of workplace abuse, there were reports that Ms. Payette had chafed at the customs and duties tied to the job, and had, early into her tenure, decided to keep a lighter-than-traditional schedule. Her departure is likely to cast renewed scrutiny on the vetting process the Trudeau government undertook in appointing her to the largely ceremonial role. Mr. Trudeau's predecessor had struck an advisory committee in 2012 tasked with helping the government select candidates for vice-regal posts, including the governor general. But Mr. Trudeau disbanded the committee and selected her on his own. Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin was bearer of more bad news yesterday, in announcing that the delay in the delivery of Pfizer's vaccine doses will be worse than had been anticipated last week. He told reporters that expected shipments in the first week of February will be one-fifth of what was expected, giving Canada just 79,000 more doses. It's also unclear how many may arrive the following week. Despite the delays, government officials have insisted that Canada is still on pace to meet projections to have three million Canadians vaccinated by the end of March, with an eye to having enough doses on hand by the end of September. In other reports on reports, the Correctional Service of Canada said it would undertake reforms to improve its community supervision policies after an internal review found that it failed to heed several red flags before a parolee killed a Quebec woman. Critics said that the response comes too late and that an independent investigation is needed. "The report may be dead on and correct and have all the right recommendations and findings, but it’s a question of transparency, openness, and accountability," said correctional investigator Ivan Zinger. The effort to review the government's laws around access to information likely won't be done until a year from now, according to The Canadian Press. The government pushed back its timeframe for getting that work underway, giving itself until Jan. 31 to turn in the report on the study to the Treasury Board. Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard had recently challenged the government to make good on its promise to bring the PMO and cabinet ministers under the regime for the sake of transparency. In defending the government, Mr. Trudeau pointed to the review process still underway. In scheduled events, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is hosting a virtual finance ministers' meeting with her territorial and provincial counterparts; her deputy, Mona Fortier, will also be in attendance. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem is expected to join in on the call for a portion of the meeting. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, meanwhile, will be holding a presser at 10:30 a.m., today, in anticipation of Parliament's return on Monday. The Hill Times

Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Julie Payette resigns as governor general after scathing probe into claims of workplace harassment

Plus, the firm of high-powered lawyer Marie Henein, who was once retained by the now-disgraced CBC Radio personality, Jian Ghomeshi, is now reportedly representing Assunta di Lorenzo, the governor general's chief aide.

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Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Julie Payette resigns as governor general after scathing probe into claims of workplace harassment

Plus, the firm of high-powered lawyer Marie Henein, who was once retained by the now-disgraced CBC Radio personality, Jian Ghomeshi, is now reportedly representing Assunta di Lorenzo, the governor general's chief aide.

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