tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/julie-payette-44265/articlesJulie Payette – The Conversation2021-03-22T18:48:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1561942021-03-22T18:48:21Z2021-03-22T18:48:21ZToxic bosses should be the next to face #MeToo-type reprisals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390735/original/file-20210321-13-zzcxyg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1920%2C1281&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Toxic workplaces and abusive bosses can make our lives miserable and seriously erode our physical and mental well-being. As we return to the office following the COVID-19 pandemic, time may be up for bad bosses.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pixabay)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of us have had the misfortune of working in a <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/06/times-up-for-toxic-workplaces">toxic workplace</a>. We’ve experienced demeaning comments from a supervisor, verbal aggression, surveillance and sometimes even physical threats or intimidation. But what if these behaviours were treated as seriously as other forms of workplace misconduct? </p>
<p>In Canada, the emphasis on workers’ right to a safe and healthy workplace in the wake of former governor general <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/governor-general-payette-step-down-1.5882675">Julie Payette’s resignation</a> provides a rare opportunity to expand the definition of workplace harassment and hold toxic bosses to account — just as serial sexual abusers <a href="https://theconversation.com/metoo-in-2021-global-activists-continue-to-build-on-the-movement-against-sexual-violence-152205">have been outed and held responsible during the #MeToo movement</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389817/original/file-20210316-16-15lnf63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Payette, in a white suit, reads the throne speech." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389817/original/file-20210316-16-15lnf63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389817/original/file-20210316-16-15lnf63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=783&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389817/original/file-20210316-16-15lnf63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=783&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389817/original/file-20210316-16-15lnf63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=783&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389817/original/file-20210316-16-15lnf63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389817/original/file-20210316-16-15lnf63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389817/original/file-20210316-16-15lnf63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gov. Gen. Julie Payette delivers the throne speech in the Senate chamber in Ottawa in September 2020, a few months before her resignation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is an especially opportune time to do so, given many employees could soon be heading back to the office due to COVID-19 vaccination efforts.</p>
<p>Payette resigned in January after an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/julie-payette-workplace-report-1.5890757">independent investigation</a> revealed widespread allegations of harassment at Rideau Hall. The investigation detailed reports of physical intimidation and public humiliation, leading some employees to take medical leave or resign. </p>
<p>While this environment certainly sounds toxic, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/government/publicservice/wellness-inclusion-diversity-public-service/harassment-conflict-resolution/harassment-tool-employees.html#c2">the Policy on Harassment Prevention and Resolution</a> provides strict standards to determine when toxic behaviour amounts to legal harassment. A “<a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/government/publicservice/wellness-inclusion-diversity-public-service/harassment-conflict-resolution/harassment-tool-employees.html#c4">poisoned workplace environment</a>” featuring hostile and offensive behaviours only qualifies as harassment if directed at one individual or is tied to a legal basis for discrimination, including race, gender and religion. </p>
<p>Following these guidelines, the <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20465633/release-copy-27-01-21_ocr-1.pdf#page=47">independent report concluded</a> that staffers’ allegations did not meet the formal definition of harassment, despite finding that many of the alleged behaviours could have led to a toxic workplace. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390261/original/file-20210318-21-n557lo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Dominic LeBlanc speaks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390261/original/file-20210318-21-n557lo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390261/original/file-20210318-21-n557lo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390261/original/file-20210318-21-n557lo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390261/original/file-20210318-21-n557lo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390261/original/file-20210318-21-n557lo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390261/original/file-20210318-21-n557lo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390261/original/file-20210318-21-n557lo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dominic LeBlanc speaks during a news conference in October 2020 in Ottawa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s striking then, that in response to Payette’s resignation, Dominic LeBlanc, the intergovernmental affairs minister who spoke on behalf of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, stressed Canadians’ “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1846937667719">right to work in a healthy, safe, harassment-free workplace</a>.” In her resignation statement, even Payette herself emphasized workers’ “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/julie-payette-full-statement-governor-general-resignation-rideau-hall-1.5882916">right to a healthy and safe work environment</a>.” </p>
<p>The framing of toxic workplace behaviours as an occupational safety issue, one that could amount to harassment, recognizes the <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amr.2017.0350">psychological trauma</a> that these environments inflict. If you were required to work in a literal toxic workplace, filled with noxious gases, you would expect a gas mask. Workers who face daily dehumanizing and hostile treatment deserve similar guarantees of protection. </p>
<h2>Tough vs. toxic</h2>
<p>A quick look across the border reveals how the characterization of toxic behaviour can have significant consequences for accountability. The week Payette resigned, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar took centre stage at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, delivering opening remarks. There was no mention of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/us/politics/amy-klobuchar-staff.html">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/amy-klobuchar-staff-2020-election">investigative</a> <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/amy-klobuchar-mistreat-staff-harry-reid_n_5c5db1ece4b03afe8d674530?ri18n=true">reports</a> that Klobuchar has repeatedly engaged in abusive behaviour, including throwing binders and phones at her aides. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390263/original/file-20210318-19-1rebi5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sen. Amy Klobuchar speaks with her finger raised." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390263/original/file-20210318-19-1rebi5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390263/original/file-20210318-19-1rebi5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390263/original/file-20210318-19-1rebi5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390263/original/file-20210318-19-1rebi5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390263/original/file-20210318-19-1rebi5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390263/original/file-20210318-19-1rebi5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390263/original/file-20210318-19-1rebi5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sen. Amy Klobuchar speaks during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in October 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Samuel Corum/Pool via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Perhaps most memorably, an allegation surfaced that Klobuchar publicly humiliated a staffer who forgot utensils for her salad, and demanded that the employee <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/us/politics/amy-klobuchar-staff.html">clean her comb after she used it as a makeshift fork</a>. </p>
<p>Klobuchar did not deny these accounts, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/amy-klobuchar-responds-staff-reports_n_5c5f9dcae4b0eec79b241d0e?ri18n=true">but insisted</a> that she is “tough” and pushes people because she has “high expectations.” </p>
<p>Others have noted the parallels between these cases and dismissed the divergent consequences for Payette’s and Klobuchar’s political careers. The difference, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/22/canada-julie-payette-governor-general-resignation/">one writer argued</a>, is that the governor general “does not actually have any important work to do.” </p>
<h2>Fear, trauma</h2>
<p>Regardless, the impact on workers remains the same: fear, humiliation and sometimes trauma. Whether someone works for an abusive supervisor at a fast-food restaurant or in the hallowed halls of Parliament, that supervisor is still responsible for their behaviour. Abuse is still abuse, and no one deserves to feel unsafe and frightened at work.</p>
<p>The conversation around toxic workplace behaviour requires <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/jobs/07preoccupations.html">an awareness of ingrained</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2018/08/28/when-women-are-called-aggressive-at-work/">cultural</a> <a href="https://search.proquest.com/docview/2043390907?pq-origsite=summon">stereotypes</a> that women in power are aggressive, while their male counterparts are assertive. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390266/original/file-20210318-19-36e4fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets a COVID-19 vaccine." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390266/original/file-20210318-19-36e4fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390266/original/file-20210318-19-36e4fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390266/original/file-20210318-19-36e4fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390266/original/file-20210318-19-36e4fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390266/original/file-20210318-19-36e4fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390266/original/file-20210318-19-36e4fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390266/original/file-20210318-19-36e4fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks before getting a COVID-19 vaccine in New York, on March 17, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Women also appear to pay a higher price for toxic behaviour, while men are given the benefit of the doubt until other allegations emerge. </p>
<p>New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been accused of <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/andrew-cuomo-misconduct-allegations.html">toxic leadership for years</a>, for example, yet he is only facing public censure and an impeachment investigation following recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/12/nyregion/cuomo-women-toxic-workplace.html">sexual harassment allegations</a>. </p>
<p>Both Payette and Klobuchar are high-profile female leaders, and have likely been on the receiving end of gender stereotypes. But at the same time, given the scope and severity of the allegations against them, it’s clear these accounts cannot be attributed solely to bias. Confronting toxic behaviour without reinforcing misogyny will require acknowledgement and vigilance — a supervisor’s gender is no excuse to neglect workers’ well-being.</p>
<h2>Multiple fronts</h2>
<p>Toxic environments can breed and compound other forms of discriminatory harassment. Workers with intersecting identities often face multiple fronts of abuse at once.</p>
<p>In Canada, for example, a former Rideau Hall employee recently came forward with <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/former-rideau-hall-employee-speaks-up-racism-claims-1.5923995">allegations of racism</a>, highlighting the intensified mistreatment of employees of colour. </p>
<p>This summer, a British KPMG executive resigned after he told employees to “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/12/kpmg-bill-michael-resigns-after-telling-staff-to-stop-moaning">stop moaning</a>” about pay cuts, while also labelling the concept of unconscious bias <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/12/kpmg-bill-michael-resigns-after-telling-staff-to-stop-moaning">as “crap.”</a> </p>
<p>If employers swiftly confront dehumanizing behaviour at its source, other forms of prohibited harassment will likely not be tolerated, emphasizing a culture of respect for all workers.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Toxic workplace behaviour must be categorized as its own form of harassment. Fortunately, since Payette’s resignation, the definition of workplace harassment for Canadian federal employees <a href="https://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2020/2020-06-24/html/sor-dors130-eng.html">has been amended</a> to include humiliation and psychological trauma in the workplace. Federal employers must also submit <a href="https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/global-hr/Pages/Canada-employers-confront-harassment.aspx">annual reports</a> detailing harassment allegations. </p>
<p>While these are promising first steps, these regulations only apply to <a href="https://www.healthandsafetybc.ca/workplaces-covered-jurisdiction-federal-government-canada">about 10 per cent</a> of the Canadian workforce. For all workers to receive these protections, provinces must follow the federal government’s lead.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2012.01246.x">Researchers have found</a> that employees experiencing managerial abuse have a propensity to mistreat their co-workers, creating a toxic <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/06/times-up-for-toxic-workplaces">ripple effect</a>. Alternatively, if we raise the bar for workplace standards, especially for those at the very top, we all stand to benefit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156194/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erica Mildner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Could the resignation of Canada’s governor general represent a watershed moment for workers’ rights?Erica Mildner, PhD Candidate, Sociology, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1543562021-03-21T13:06:25Z2021-03-21T13:06:25ZThe search for a new governor general is tough in a disparate nation like Canada<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390392/original/file-20210318-21-vk9t4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4548%2C2952&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former Gov. Gen. Julie Payette invests Jeanette Corbiere Lavell, from Wikwemikong First Nation, Ont., as a Member of the Order of Canada outside Rideau Hall in Ottawa in September 2018.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government has <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/governor-general-new-process-payette-1.5947766">kicked off its efforts to choose a new governor general</a> to succeed Julie Payette, who resigned in the face of allegations she created a toxic workplace at Rideau Hall.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390213/original/file-20210317-21-1c4hbfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2428%2C1831&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Julie Payette waves" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390213/original/file-20210317-21-1c4hbfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2428%2C1831&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390213/original/file-20210317-21-1c4hbfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390213/original/file-20210317-21-1c4hbfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390213/original/file-20210317-21-1c4hbfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390213/original/file-20210317-21-1c4hbfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390213/original/file-20210317-21-1c4hbfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390213/original/file-20210317-21-1c4hbfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former Gov. Gen. Julie Payette waves prior to delivering the throne speech in the Senate chamber in Ottawa in September 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The long delay in appointing Payette’s replacement illustrates how difficult it is to fill the job. Whoever is ultimately selected by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must represent Canada’s past, especially its linkage to a monarchy that’s currently <a href="https://www.voanews.com/europe/royal-mess-britains-monarchy-facing-biggest-crisis-1990s">in a state of crisis following recent allegations by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex</a>. But the new governor general must also exemplify its future. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-the-meghan-harry-revelations-change-canadian-attitudes-about-the-monarchy-157104">Will the Meghan/Harry revelations change Canadian attitudes about the monarchy?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Even more importantly, the individual must grasp Canada’s difficult and in some ways accidental road to nationhood.</p>
<p>In rejecting the siren call of <a href="https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/american-revolution-1763-1783/revolutionary-war-northern-front-1775-1777/">the War of Independence in 1776</a>, the northern colonies that became Canada <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-nova-scotia-almost-joined-american-revolution-180963564/">cemented their allegiance to the British Crown</a>.</p>
<h2>British oversight</h2>
<p>Over the next century, the British offered protection against the expansion of the United States. Even after Confederation in 1867, the interests of the British Empire guided Canada’s foreign policy for decades. </p>
<p>The political culture and traditions inherited from Britain — a parliamentary system of government (House of Commons and Senate), common law, a strong degree of conservatism and emphasis on collective responsibility — have shaped contemporary Canada. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Members of the Ceremonial Guard march past Rideau Hall" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390214/original/file-20210317-13-1s66puy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5261%2C3481&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390214/original/file-20210317-13-1s66puy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390214/original/file-20210317-13-1s66puy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390214/original/file-20210317-13-1s66puy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390214/original/file-20210317-13-1s66puy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390214/original/file-20210317-13-1s66puy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390214/original/file-20210317-13-1s66puy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the Ceremonial Guard march past Rideau Hall during the first Changing of the Guard ceremony in Ottawa in June 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The very position of governor general, inherited from Great Britain when Canada was but a collection of independent colonies, is one of the features that differentiates Canada from other large countries settled by European powers in the Americas.</p>
<h2>American influence</h2>
<p>Although Canadians rejected the allure of republicanism, politicians over the centuries have felt free to borrow from their American counterparts. Canada pirated federalism (strong regional governments, namely provinces) and a reliance on a written constitution, with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ emphasis on individual rights. </p>
<p>At the same time, the U.S. has been useful as a model of what to avoid: a presidential system of government, slavery, an aversion to gun control and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/5/4/21242750/coronavirus-covid-19-united-states-canada-trump-trudeau">too great a reliance on the free market.</a></p>
<h2>Québec culture</h2>
<p>The defeat of France by Britain that resulted in Québec becoming an English colony is a defining event in Canadian history. However, the decision by the victors to guarantee the French their traditional rights and customs, and the political means to protect their culture, was just as important to Canada’s future.</p>
<p>This approach resulted in bilingualism and biculturalism, ultimately <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/the-sunday-edition-for-february-24-2019-1.5029453/how-did-multiculturalism-become-so-central-to-canada-s-identity-1.5029456">becoming multiculturalism</a>, and it distinguishes Canada from many other nations. </p>
<p>But Québec has had historical grievances against the rest of Canada, leading to the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7432034/quebec-1995-referendum-25th-anniversary/">1995 sovereignty referendum</a> that came within a few thousand votes of tearing Canada apart. </p>
<p>Québec separatism, even when in decline as it appears to be now, is an existential threat that surely features prominently in the darkest nightmares of every prime minister — and the governor general.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390217/original/file-20210317-17-1hmr3h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Yes supporter holds a Québec flag." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390217/original/file-20210317-17-1hmr3h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390217/original/file-20210317-17-1hmr3h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390217/original/file-20210317-17-1hmr3h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390217/original/file-20210317-17-1hmr3h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390217/original/file-20210317-17-1hmr3h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390217/original/file-20210317-17-1hmr3h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390217/original/file-20210317-17-1hmr3h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Yes supporter holding a Québec flag chants nationalist slogans prior to a concert in support of sovereignty in Montréal in September 1995.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Indigenous population</h2>
<p>Life for Indigenous people in what is now called North America has drastically changed since settlers appeared and did everything in their power to wipe them out, including with longstanding colonial policies like <a href="https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_residential_school_system/">residential schools</a>, the <a href="https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/sixties_scoop/">‘60s Scoop</a> and numerous cases of land dispossession in the 19th and 20th centuries.</p>
<p>Starting in the 1970s, court decisions, changes in federal government policy and determined efforts by First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and individuals have slowly enlarged the political influence of Indigenous Peoples.</p>
<p>Defining events included Indigenous activist <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/meech-lake-linked-cree-leader-elijah-harper-dies-at-64-1.1286039?cid=ps%3A923">Elijah Harper’s opposition to the Meech Lake Accord</a> in Manitoba,
and the <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oka-crisis">Oka crisis</a>, a 78-day standoff over the proposed expansion of a golf course and development of townhouses on a Mohawk burial ground in Québec.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390216/original/file-20210317-17-non311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Elijah Harper holds up an eagle feather." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390216/original/file-20210317-17-non311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390216/original/file-20210317-17-non311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390216/original/file-20210317-17-non311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390216/original/file-20210317-17-non311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390216/original/file-20210317-17-non311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390216/original/file-20210317-17-non311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390216/original/file-20210317-17-non311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The late Elijah Harper, a former politician and honorary Cree Chief, holds up one of two eagle feathers he held during Meech Lake proceedings, in Ottawa in May 2008. Harper was a symbol of power for Indigenous people when he helped scuttle the Meech Lake constitutional accord.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tom Hanson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More recently, federal government policy has shifted toward <a href="https://reconciliationcanada.ca/staging/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/NationalNarrativeReport-ReconciliationCanada-ReleasedMay2017_3.pdf">reconciliation with Indigenous people</a>, exemplified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. </p>
<p>Although most policy is largely symbolic, such as land acknowledgements, efforts are being made to improve the living conditions in many First Nations communities. The federal government, while missing the March 2021 goal of <a href="https://theconversation.com/water-crisis-in-first-nations-communities-runs-deeper-than-long-term-drinking-water-advisories-148977">ending drinking water advisories</a> that last more than a year, has made a dent in providing some communities with safe drinking water.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/water-crisis-in-first-nations-communities-runs-deeper-than-long-term-drinking-water-advisories-148977">Water crisis in First Nations communities runs deeper than long-term drinking water advisories</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Yet Indigenous people make up only a small strand in national politics, culture and power structures. <a href="https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/nunavuts-population-could-reach-54000-by-2043-statcan-says/">Only in Nunavut</a>, with a population of 40,000, do Inuit comprise a majority that allows them to enact laws to protect, sustain and advance their culture and interests.</p>
<p>The new governor general will have to fuse the British, French, American, Indigenous and multicultural elements of Canada that together are at the core of the country. It is not an easy job, especially given the position is mostly ceremonial and one that not all Canadians see as even necessary.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154356/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Klassen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Canada’s new governor general will have to fuse the British, French, American and Indigenous elements of Canada that together are the core of the country.Thomas Klassen, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1534392021-02-11T15:18:45Z2021-02-11T15:18:45ZLessons from Donald Trump: Does a toxic CEO ever truly leave?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383651/original/file-20210211-16-1bi5orh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4662%2C3105&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in May 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Psychopaths are people with a variety of <a href="http://www.hare.org/Hare2016CPAgoldmedalaward.pdf">behavioural traits</a> that make them uniquely ruthless in their parasitic, care-free and predatory approach to life. </p>
<p>Canadian psychologist Robert Hare suggests <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-011-3965-6_6">that four elements characterize psychopathy</a>: interpersonal factors (manipulative, grandiose self-worth, pathological lying, superficial charm), affective factors (lack of remorse, lack of empathy and responsibility), behavioural lifestyle factors (stimulation-seeking, impulsivity, parasitic orientation, lack of realistic goals) and antisocial factors (poor behaviour controls, early behavioural problems, juvenile delinquency, criminal versatility).</p>
<p>Many organizations are forced to part with leaders who exhibit these traits. </p>
<p>But while they may leave the organization, their style of leadership and the damage they leave behind have a long shelf life. As we’re witnessing in the United States during former president Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, these types of leaders have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/riot-republicans-trump-impeachment/2021/01/27/b13633fe-60b6-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.html">loyalists and disciples long after they’ve stepped out of the spotlight</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Trump smiles and gives the thumb's up from the back of a limo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383549/original/file-20210210-13-1214v57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383549/original/file-20210210-13-1214v57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383549/original/file-20210210-13-1214v57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383549/original/file-20210210-13-1214v57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383549/original/file-20210210-13-1214v57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383549/original/file-20210210-13-1214v57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383549/original/file-20210210-13-1214v57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trump gestures to supporters en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Joe Biden was inaugurated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Successful psychopaths have been less frequently studied than the criminal variety. However, they may possess enhanced intellectual capacity that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0963721415580297">enables them to function at the executive level and find corporate rather than criminal success</a>. </p>
<p>Such psychopaths <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281314977_Extreme_managers_extreme_workplaces_Capitalism_organizations_and_corporate_psychopaths">have been called industrial, executive, organizational or corporate psychopaths</a> to differentiate them from their more commonly known criminal peers.</p>
<h2>Some psychopaths are successful</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.guilford.com/books/Without-Conscience/Robert-Hare/9781572304512">In his book <em>Without Conscience</em></a>, Hare says psychopaths:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“… appear to function reasonably well — as lawyers, doctors, academics, mercenaries, police officers, cult leaders, military personnel, politicians, business leaders, and so forth — without breaking the law, or at least without being caught and convicted.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Researchers, in fact, have found that <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/08/the-science-behind-why-so-many-successful-millionaires-are-psychopaths-and-why-it-doesnt-have-to-be-a-bad-thing.html">many senior executives and CEOs are psychopaths</a>. </p>
<p>This is one reason why it’s essential to investigate and identify corporate psychopaths before they’re able to seriously harm an organization. When the psychopathic executive or politician runs out of mileage and is fired or leaves before legal proceedings against them are started, the damage has already been done and can have an impact on the organization’s future. </p>
<p>Dealing with psychopaths in leadership positions requires knowing how psychopaths lead and the impact they have on their adherents or employees. Training managers to be on alert for troubling personality traits is a critical yet difficult challenge.</p>
<p>In Canada, for example, the failure of the federal government to effectively vet former Gov. Gen. Julie Payette serves as an example of how difficult this type of process can be. <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-independent-review-of-rideau-hall-harassment-will-challenge-governor/">But the allegations against her</a> during her rocky tenure as the Governor General suggests problematic behaviour can exist in all manner of leadership positions.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/julie-payettes-resignation-is-a-chance-to-reimagine-the-role-of-governor-general-153788">Julie Payette's resignation is a chance to reimagine the role of Governor General</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How psychopathy affects leadership styles</h2>
<p><a href="https://hbr.org/2004/10/executive-psychopaths">Corporate psychopaths</a> are described as people who flatter those above them while manipulating their peers and abusing those under them. Toxic leaders appear to be malicious, malevolent and self-aggrandizing. These are people who manage by controlling, bullying and instilling fear rather than uplifting their teams while simultaneously appearing to their superiors to be enthusiastic, impressive and articulate managers.</p>
<p>Current research also <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-030-02470-3_74-1">supports the view that corporate psychopaths overstate their qualifications and abilities</a>, claiming degrees from prestigious universities and management competencies they don’t possess. Furthermore, corporate psychopaths use divide-and-conquer tactics to maintain control of employees, unions and boards while jeopardizing client service quality and organizational outcomes through their erratic and fickle management plans.</p>
<p>The damage that Trump created and left behind will not be corrected with a new president. More than 70 million Americans voted for him in November’s presidential election, many of whom are ardent disciples of his toxic brand. </p>
<p>Fortunately, corporations have greater control over their leaders. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman holds a Welcome Home President Trump sign on a roadside." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383594/original/file-20210210-21-5x97s0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383594/original/file-20210210-21-5x97s0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383594/original/file-20210210-21-5x97s0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383594/original/file-20210210-21-5x97s0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383594/original/file-20210210-21-5x97s0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383594/original/file-20210210-21-5x97s0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383594/original/file-20210210-21-5x97s0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Trump supporter waits for his motorcade on the road to Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 20, 2021, in West Palm Beach, Fla.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Examples of psychopathic behaviour</h2>
<p>The link between highly psychopathic CEOs and organizational collapse has been explored <a href="https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/employee-well-being-under-corporate-psychopath-leaders/18752408">using a measure of psychopathy</a> applied to the alleged behaviour of <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-maxwells-scandal-conspiracy-and-more-than-a-few-days-in-court/">British media baron Robert Maxwell</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/opinion/21swartz.html">Kenneth Lay of Enron Corp.</a> in the United States. Both men were highly instrumental in the financial collapse of their organizations, which had a substantial impact on the lives of their employees.</p>
<p>Trump now offers a political example.</p>
<p>Psychopaths are usually toxic leaders who create toxic organizations <a href="http://www.softpanorama.org/Social/Toxic_managers/index.shtml">because of the “rules” they mandate</a>: </p>
<ol>
<li> They must be in control of every aspect of the organization at all times</li>
<li> When problems arise, they immediately find a guilty party to blame</li>
<li> They cover up mistakes</li>
<li> They rarely confront the reality of a situation</li>
<li> They never take into account anyone else’s feelings unless they’re positive</li>
<li> They don’t want employees asking questions; they expect them to do as they’re told</li>
<li> They distrust their peers, colleagues and team members</li>
</ol>
<p>There is also <a href="https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/employee-well-being-under-corporate-psychopath-leaders/18752408">some evidence that bullying influences the personalities of those within the abusive environment</a>. Employees become less open and less agreeable, suggesting that an abusive and bullying atmosphere created by a toxic CEO goes viral.</p>
<p>Employee well-being and morale erodes, organizational confusion replaces a sense of direction, organizational ethics decline and corporate reputation suffers. This vicious cycle does not evaporate when the psychopath eventually leaves. It often continues via succession to a willing disciple who found this leadership style attractive and effective, so is intent on emulating it.</p>
<h2>Be on guard for disciples</h2>
<p>But even if an organization managed by a psychopath enjoys some short-term financial benefits, its long-term resilience is at serious risk.</p>
<p>So, what to do? </p>
<p>Aside from pre-employment psychological assessments that may work but often don’t, it’s critical to be aware that psychopathic leaders have followers who demonstrate similar behaviours that propelled their messiahs to key leadership positions. </p>
<p>Whether those leaders leave an organization willingly or are forced out, as Trump was, they can easily be viewed as martyrs by others in the organization. So keep in mind that psychopaths develop and groom disciples, and it’s critical to root them out too for the long-term survival of the organization.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153439/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven H. Appelbaum does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While toxic CEOs may leave organizations, their style of leadership and the damage they leave behind have a long shelf life.Steven H. Appelbaum, Professor of Management, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1537882021-01-24T14:08:53Z2021-01-24T14:08:53ZJulie Payette’s resignation is a chance to reimagine the role of Governor General<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380250/original/file-20210122-19-2tm6tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C21%2C4677%2C3346&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rideau Hall, the official residence of Canada's Governor General, is waiting for its next inhabitant. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Julie Payette’s abrupt resignation after an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/governor-general-payette-step-down-1.5882675">external review found Rideau Hall was a toxic workplace</a> is an opportunity to transform the role of Canada’s Governor General.</p>
<p>The patriation of the Constitution 40 years ago under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau gave Canada <a href="https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/2/4/h4-4024-e.html">complete sovereignty as an independent country</a>. However, it left the Queen’s role as monarch of Canada untouched.</p>
<p>The Governor General <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/crown-canada/governor-general.html">represents the monarch in Canada</a> and the duties of the office include giving royal assent to legislation — the final step that makes acts of Parliament into law. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Julie Payette walks ahead of Justin Trudeau as they leave the Senate chamber at Canada's Parliament building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380251/original/file-20210122-17-1xds3kg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380251/original/file-20210122-17-1xds3kg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380251/original/file-20210122-17-1xds3kg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380251/original/file-20210122-17-1xds3kg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380251/original/file-20210122-17-1xds3kg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380251/original/file-20210122-17-1xds3kg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380251/original/file-20210122-17-1xds3kg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gov. Gen. Julie Payette leaves along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after delivering last fall’s throne speech.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The position also has a large ceremonial role, both domestically and internationally, and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-a-very-trudeau-mistake-created-this-governor-general-fiasco/">the ambassadorial part of the job was apparently one of Payette’s problems</a>. </p>
<p>While some may argue that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/09/26/canada-should-abolish-its-pointless-governor-general/">the position should be eliminated</a>, a reimagined, non-colonial Governor General could play an important role for Canadians. </p>
<h2>A touchy subject</h2>
<p>Eliminating the office of the monarch from the Constitution has been, and continues to be, <a href="https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/politics-law/developing-a-strong-constitution">a touchy subject given Canada’s political culture</a>.</p>
<p>Unlike their neighbours to the south, Canadians historically have sought gradual and evolutionary reforms to how their nation is governed — thereby avoiding revolution and civil war. </p>
<p>Many Canadians want politicians to ensure that state institutions are respectful and representative of all citizens — and specifically to <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7356841/black-lives-matter-canada-poll/">take action on systemic anti-Black racism</a> and to continue <a href="https://reconciliationcanada.ca/staging/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/NationalNarrativeReport-ReconciliationCanada-ReleasedMay2017_3.pdf">reconciliation efforts with the country’s Indigenous peoples</a>.</p>
<h2>Beyond rhetorical gestures</h2>
<p>Yet, at best, politicians respond with rhetorical gestures to these issues, such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-june-8-2020-1.5602912/if-taking-a-knee-was-a-genuine-gesture-it-would-be-followed-by-concrete-action-says-professor-1.5603135">taking a knee during a Black Lives Matter demonstration</a>. Although the words “unacceptable” and “reform” are bantered about, little, if anything, seems to change.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Justin Trudeau, in a mask, kneels on one knee." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380322/original/file-20210124-13-1nuvtk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380322/original/file-20210124-13-1nuvtk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380322/original/file-20210124-13-1nuvtk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380322/original/file-20210124-13-1nuvtk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380322/original/file-20210124-13-1nuvtk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380322/original/file-20210124-13-1nuvtk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380322/original/file-20210124-13-1nuvtk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trudeau takes a knee as he takes part in an anti-racism protest on Parliament Hill in June 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Establishing a unique Canadian head of state that is not the office of the British monarch is a step that all governments across the country could take to foster reconciliation. It would be a bold gesture to acknowledge the need to move on from Canada’s colonial legacy.</p>
<p>Taking this final step to attain independence from Britain would allow Canada to start a new phase of its nationhood — a phase when different faces grace the portraits hung in government buildings throughout the land and embassies across the world.</p>
<h2>Not an impossible change</h2>
<p>Although constitutionally difficult, such a change is by no means impossible. What is needed is <a href="http://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1982/1982-06-amending-formula.html">the consent of all the provinces plus the House of Commons and Senate</a>.</p>
<p>That would require political horse trading, but that’s the nature of parliamentary democracy and federalism. Most in <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6496234/ipsos-poll-canada-monarchy/">Québec would likely welcome the proposal</a>, and eliminating ties to the monarchy would undermine some of the issues <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/2021/01/21/canadians-react-as-julie-payette-steps-down-as-governor-general.html">that animate the Bloc Québecois</a> and the separatist movement.</p>
<p>A homegrown head of state is the gentlest kind of evolution because simultaneously nothing would change and yet much could change.</p>
<p>Creating a Canadian head of state with no ties to the British crown would require only the elimination of a few words from the Constitution. Governments would operate as before. All powers presently entrusted to the monarch would be conferred to the new role of Governor General. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/16/americas/barbados-queen-elizabeth-scli-intl-gbr/index.html">Barbados recently dropped the Queen as its head of state</a> without upheaval of any kind. </p>
<h2>A more representative symbol</h2>
<p>However, at the same time, Canada would still have a head of state who reflects the nation — a symbol of unity and integrity, and a reminder to the government in power that its rule is only temporary.</p>
<p>This new Governor General could be an individual who was born in the Far North, or in an inner city, or in a Prairie town or in an Atlantic Coast fishing village. It could be someone who can speak English, French and perhaps even some Inuktitut.</p>
<p>By patriating the office of Governor General, politicians across the nation could agree that Canada’s head of state should not be a representative of a colonial power that lives in a palace.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Queen Elizabeth sits at a small table and signs Canada's constitutional proclamation with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau sitting at her side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380252/original/file-20210122-21-13ab9te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380252/original/file-20210122-21-13ab9te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380252/original/file-20210122-21-13ab9te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380252/original/file-20210122-21-13ab9te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380252/original/file-20210122-21-13ab9te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380252/original/file-20210122-21-13ab9te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380252/original/file-20210122-21-13ab9te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Queen Elizabeth signs Canada’s constitutional proclamation in Ottawa on April 17, 1982, as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and other government officials look on. The patriation of the Constitution maintained the position of Governor General as the Queen’s representative in Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CP PHOTO/Andy Clark</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Taking this step would by no means diminish the role of British traditions and heritage in Canada. The country’s political institutions, common law, one of its official languages and much more would continue pay tribute to the British colonists and Britain itself. </p>
<h2>A homegrown office</h2>
<p>Creating a homegrown office of the Governor General leaves open <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3559289/how-canada-could-break-up-with-the-monarchy/">the question of how to fill the post</a>. The most frequent proposal for a mechanism is to have members of the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/medals/medals-chart-index/companion-order-canada-cc.html">Companions of the Order of Canada</a> — individuals recognized to their contributions to Canada and humanity on the national or international scene — make the selection.</p>
<p>Of course, it may be that most politicians prefer the current arrangement: a hereditary head of state who reflects yesteryear’s nation, rather than the Canada of today and tomorrow. In this arrangement, it matters little who the Governor General is because that person is merely a representative of the monarch fulfilling the duties of the sovereign in their absence.</p>
<p>But this unprecedented resignation by a Governor General is a perfect opportunity for those who lead in Ottawa to shake the dust from Rideau Hall and set a new course for Canada’s head of state.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153788/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Klassen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For the first time in Canadian history, the Governor General has resigned. Now is the perfect time to imagine a different kind of head of state for the country.Thomas Klassen, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1463822020-09-27T11:48:00Z2020-09-27T11:48:00ZEven in 2020, a double standard is still applied to women in the spotlight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360058/original/file-20200925-22-2y9rx7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C0%2C3000%2C1976&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">British Columbia's Chief Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry provides an update on the coronavirus pandemic on Sept. 20.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are wrong to think the Trump era of attacks on women’s leadership, credibility and character is new, or even isolated to a polarized political climate south of the border.</p>
<p>Women’s leadership, especially as a voice for change, is considered by some to be barely tolerable: from <a href="https://theconversation.com/before-kamala-harris-became-bidens-running-mate-shirley-chisholm-and-other-black-women-aimed-for-the-white-house-143655">Shirley Chisholm</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/10/fear-of-a-female-president/497564/">Hillary Rodham Clinton</a> and former Australian prime minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/feb/07/it-took-on-a-life-of-its-own-the-story-behind-julia-gillards-misogyny-speech">Julia Gillard</a>, to the latest attacks on vice-presidential nominee <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/kamala-harris-already-facing-sexist-racist-attacks-it-ll-only-ncna1236620">Kamala Harris</a> and the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/tom-mulcair-julie-payette-deserves-better/wcm/f02b1f73-5218-4a26-ad05-c14da89791b1/">current stories about Governor General Julie Payette</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/julia-gillard-hits-back-at-a-long-history-of-sexism-in-parliament-10071">Julia Gillard hits back at a long history of sexism in parliament</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The forces resisting change rapidly mobilize, and character assassination — often wielded anonymously — is too often the weapon of choice. </p>
<p>Even in the midst of a pandemic, when Canadians are exhorted to bring their best selves to the table and “be stronger together,” the double standard endures as witnessed by <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bonnie-henry-death-threats-1.5734809">the recent personal attacks on British Columbia’s Chief Health Officer Bonnie Henry</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lMMBY7Kyyts?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In the course of responding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, B.C.’s Chief Health Officer Bonnie Henry says she has received death threats.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Higher stakes</h2>
<p>Viola Davis, the first Black actress to win an Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama in 2015, recently spoke about <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/07/cover-story-viola-davis">the even higher stakes faced by women of colour</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We know as women, when you speak up, you’re labelled a bitch — immediately. Unruly — immediately. Just as a woman. As a woman of colour, there is very, very, very little you have to do. All you have to do is maybe roll your eyes, and that’s it. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>What is seen as strong and proactive leadership from the normative group — typically white and male — is decried as strident and overly demanding in reference to others whose appearance or background does not fit the norm. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360056/original/file-20200925-20-18bc52r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white photograph of Marie Curie" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360056/original/file-20200925-20-18bc52r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360056/original/file-20200925-20-18bc52r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360056/original/file-20200925-20-18bc52r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360056/original/file-20200925-20-18bc52r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360056/original/file-20200925-20-18bc52r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1236&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360056/original/file-20200925-20-18bc52r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1236&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360056/original/file-20200925-20-18bc52r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1236&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Physicist Marie Curie was never elected to French Academy of Sciences, despite winning two Nobel prizes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is not an issue confined to the high stakes platforms of politics and Hollywood: schools and universities are not immune. The intransigence of the French Academy of Sciences that ensured <a href="https://www.wired.com/2012/01/jan-23-1911-marie-curie/">Marie Curie was never elected to the academy</a>, despite winning two Nobel prizes, is well-known. What is less known is the accompanying <a href="https://history.aip.org/exhibits/curie/scandal1.htm">vilification and anti-Semitism in the press that painted her as a foreigner and atheist</a> and incited a mob outside the home she shared, as a widowed mother, with her two young daughters.</p>
<h2>Insidious biases</h2>
<p>Nearly 100 years later, on June 4, 2020, the publishers of <em>Angewandte Chemie</em>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200925183204/https://scholar.google.ca/citations?view_op=top_venues&vq=chm">one of the leading journals</a> in chemistry research, had to rapidly distance themselves from <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200810104654/https://sites.krieger.jhu.edu/chemdna/files/2020/06/10.1002anie.202006717.pdf">a paper they had published</a> by a Canadian academic, citing his use of “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200925182459/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15213773">offensive and inflammatory language aimed toward people of different genders, races and nationalities</a>.” The larger question is how, in the first place, did such <a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202006717">a biased opinion piece</a> make it through peer review, past senior editors and into a top-tiered journal whose mandate is the publication of scientific results? </p>
<p>There is a common thread. The problem is more than just trolls blocking passage over the bridges of leadership. In mainstream platforms, the problem is exacerbated by inadequate independent investigation and peer review, disregard for fact verification, the failure of effective editorial oversight and an increasing “tabloid” culture that manifests as a vested interest in negative or controversial stories “that sell.” </p>
<p>At current rates of progress in academia it is predicted that gender parity will take <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43826143">60 years for math and 258 years for physics</a>. Progress for <a href="https://cca-reports.ca/reports/strengthening-canadas-research-capacity-the-gender-dimension/">other under-represented talent pools</a> is <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/11741">even more glacial</a>. Progress will continue to be slow as long as mainstream platforms propagate the attacks and double standards. </p>
<h2>Eliminating double standards</h2>
<p>We hold a collective responsibility. As United States Senator Elizabeth Warren notably said: “<a href="https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/elizabeth-warren-you-dont-get-what-you-dont-fight-for/article_21149625-7365-523f-93a1-a003cf5d095e.html">You don’t get what you don’t fight for</a>.” It is well past time for us all — whether in media and journalism, politics, arts and entertainment or academia, to demand better. </p>
<p>We must take a hard look at societal attitudes towards leadership. To tackle the pressing challenges of our nation and the world, we need leadership that reflects the full diversity of excellence — inclusive of gender, sexual orientation, race, culture and language. </p>
<p>Our ability to recruit and retain breadth of leadership is undermined when women in power, and diverse leaders in general, are still so readily subjected to personal attacks and to being labelled as “<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/07/cover-story-viola-davis">unruly</a>,” a “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200810104654/https://sites.krieger.jhu.edu/chemdna/files/2020/06/10.1002anie.202006717.pdf">negative influence</a>,” or as under-qualified or unfit for service.</p>
<p>Now more than ever, the extent that women in positions of leadership are subjected to a double standard that is not present when male leaders are assessed should be a question every one of us, and in particular every thoughtful educator, journalist and media organization asks themselves. Recognizing the patterns and double standards is the first step in committing to fight and eliminate them. </p>
<p><em>Richard W. Pound, lawyer and former vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, contributed to the authorship of this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Sherwood Lollar receives funding from NSERC, CIFAR, NWMO and other national and international research foundations for her research at the University of Toronto. She serves on honors and recognition committees and advisory boards on a volunteer basis including but not restricted to The National Academies of Sciences, the Royal Society (London), the American Geophysical Union, the Order of Canada, Eni Prize Commission, the Helmholtz Association and other natinoal and international academic and research based organizations. She is a fulltime University Professor at the University of Toronto.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bryan Gaensler is the co-chair of the Canadian Astronomy Long Range Plan, 2020-2030. He receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Research Chairs Program, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Ontario Research Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominique Weis receives funding from NSERC, CFI, CRC, and other national and international research foundations for her research at the University of British Columbia. She serves on honors and recognition committees and advisory boards on a volunteer basis including but not restricted to the MIneralogical Society of America, the American Geophysical Union, and other national and international academic and research-based organizations. She is a fulltime Professor at the University of British Columbia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy McNeil is a Distinguished University Professor at The University of Western Ontario and his ecological research is funded by NSERC. His is a member of several national and international societies and, when asked, serves as a volunteer on different committees.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter G Martin receives funding from NSERC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Harris receives research funding from NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gretchen Harris, Lesley A. Warren, Molly Shoichet, and Sheldon Levy do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Women in visible leadership positions are subject to personal attacks as less competent and reliable than their male colleagues. Acknowledging this double standard is the first step in addressing it.Barbara Sherwood Lollar, University Professor Dept of Earth Sciences, University of TorontoBryan Gaensler, Director, Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of TorontoDominique Weis, Professor, University of British ColumbiaGretchen Harris, Professor Emerita, Physics and Astronomy, University of WaterlooJeremy McNeil, Professor, Biology, Western UniversityLesley A. Warren, Professor of Applied Biogeochemistry, University of TorontoMolly Shoichet, Professor, Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering, University of TorontoPeter G Martin, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of TorontoSheldon Levy, President Emeritus, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityWilliam Harris, Emeritus Professor, Physics and Astronomy, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/814472017-10-03T23:28:02Z2017-10-03T23:28:02ZCo-operative research revolution could answer call to transform science and society<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188646/original/file-20171003-18144-1kaynkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=390%2C192%2C3617%2C2523&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former astronaut Julie Payette urges Canada to use science, knowledge, and innovation as paths to better future for all, during her installation ceremony as Canada's 29th Governor General in the Senate chamber of Parliament on Oct. 2. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cpimages.com/fotoweb/cpimages_details.pop.fwx?position=69&archiveType=ImageFolder&sorting=ModifiedTimeAsc&search=julie%20and%20payette&fileId=7ED4E565C8CEED275AEAE4A023E6F0DBFE75CC55B6586039E8D351704E8E44E5D64DFDF4CDC77E89F204A11871C48808399562666F48B199B910651727E2C0824659CEF5EB788C83292F53E2763A734F2760D57E90AEF36C676A215296C82A8C3A4A90952C32F9A4B9ABD77037BCA941">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Growing social, economic, environmental and political challenges make scientific knowledge not only a critical need, but a path to a shared and brighter future for humanity. That was the message astronaut <a href="https://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=16943&lan=eng">Julie Payette</a> delivered at her installation this week as Canada’s 29th <a href="https://www.gg.ca/events.aspx?sc=1&lan=eng">Governor General</a>. </p>
<p>“Science brings us, forces us to think not in a microcosm of nationality only, but to think in terms of what we could do to advance matters and to push the boundaries of science as partners in a collective spirit, and with a peaceful intent,” the newly minted Queen’s representative said at the throne in the Senate chamber in Ottawa.</p>
<p>“The path for us to take is to trust science, to believe that innovation and discovery are good for us and to make decisions based on data and evidence,” Payette urged, while 6,000 kilometres away, ceremonies to award the <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/year/?year=2017">Nobel Prizes</a> for science began in Stockholm.</p>
<p>The Governor General’s call to action, embodied by the Nobel Prize, is one that universities are uniquely positioned to answer. </p>
<p>Universities provide society with research and information that is both excellent and relevant, but there is room for improvement. Some is of little use and in rare cases <a href="http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/saving-science">breaches of trust in science</a> have cast doubt.</p>
<p>As researchers on organizational improvement, we believe there is merit in accelerating a time-honoured approach to collaborative research, and that now is the right time to do so.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/saN-96i-m90?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Gov. Gen. Julie Payette urges Canadians to embrace science and knowledge to carry humanity into the future. (CPAC)</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>HIBAR method of research</h2>
<p>Society needs more useful discoveries, so more academics should embrace Highly Integrative Basic and Responsive (HIBAR) research.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aplu.org/hibar">HIBAR</a> is a <a href="http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/newabcs/">well-established form of research</a> that has <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674967960">led to many major breakthroughs</a>. Examples include the Nobel Prize-winning discoveries of the transistor and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanning_tunneling_microscope">scanning tunneling microscope</a>. HIBAR research led to the internet, modern high performance aircraft and tremendous improvements in cardiovascular health. </p>
<p>HIBAR research teams combine excellence in both basic research and societal problem solving, through <a href="http://www.aplu.org/projects-and-initiatives/research-science-and-technology/hibar/scoring-rubric.html">four essential intersections</a>. </p>
<p>They: </p>
<p>1) Seek new academic knowledge and solutions to important problems; </p>
<p>2) Link academic research methods with practical creative thinking; </p>
<p>3) Include academic experts and non-academic leaders; </p>
<p>4) Help society faster than basic studies yet beyond business time frames.</p>
<p>We believe society needs HIBAR research to increase over time, and that it can. </p>
<p>One reason we anticipate success is that people love contributing to HIBAR research projects. There are tremendous professional and intellectual rewards when academics partner with experts in government, industry, and non-governmental organizations. These teams produce both better peer-reviewed research and more practical solutions. </p>
<p>Another factor is that today HIBAR partnerships are more feasible than ever, thanks to cheaper travel, desktop videoconferencing, social media, collaboration platforms and other ways to interact.</p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="http://www.aplu.org/projects-and-initiatives/research-science-and-technology/hibar/resources.html">growing evidence</a> shows when academic leaders help boost HIBAR research, society wins and respects their institutions more. In short, the time is ripe for more and better HIBAR research. </p>
<h2>Cultural barriers</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, three key barriers stand in the way of widespread adoption of the HIBAR research approach. But they’re all surmountable.</p>
<p>The first barrier: Academic systems discourage HIBAR research. <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1056492617726270">Academic culture</a> often fails to reward HIBAR research, especially within the processes for research grant allocation and career advancement. Peer reviewers often undervalue positive societal impact and may favour individual achievements in their field over creativity, teamwork and diversity. This deeply affects how research is funded and carried out, discouraging the HIBAR approach. </p>
<p>An obvious solution is to change these problematic aspects of the culture. But this exposes a second significant barrier. </p>
<p>The second barrier is culture. <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1056492617726271">Culture change</a> is hard, and attempts often fail. Critiques of academic culture are nothing new. But even seasoned leaders with plentiful resources often fail to achieve lasting improvement. Culture can be surprisingly resistant to change. </p>
<p>How can an effort to popularize HIBAR be different this time? How can academia shift from a culture of intellectual lone wolves seeking approval from like-minded peers to a new normal of excellent diverse collaborative efforts for the public good?</p>
<p>Why not apply recent findings on <a href="https://hbr.org/2012/11/accelerate">how leaders <em>can</em> achieve culture change</a>? They must exceed three critical thresholds that are generally underestimated: Enough skillful effort must be applied for long enough and once the new normal is achieved, enough people must prefer it. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, that’s asking an awful lot of busy university leaders, which highlights the third key barrier: University leaders, acting alone, cannot change the academic culture to encourage HIBAR research. <a href="http://theconversation.com/do-college-presidents-still-matter-81251">Even excellent university leaders cannot make this kind of change alone</a>. </p>
<p>Many faculty members care deeply about how their peers around the world view them, and comparatively little about what their own administrators want. Faculty culture is reinforced by the many academics who support traditional behaviours, and perpetuated by the tenure system as well as competition among universities for top researchers. </p>
<p>Still, our experience is that a great many academics enthusiastically welcome greater academic freedom to help improve the world. So how can those positive feelings be harnessed to assist university leaders in enabling needed changes? We believe that this is possible in a new approach that combines the power of the hierarchical organizational structure with grassroots change efforts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179678/original/file-20170725-30157-ibtsib.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179678/original/file-20170725-30157-ibtsib.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179678/original/file-20170725-30157-ibtsib.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179678/original/file-20170725-30157-ibtsib.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179678/original/file-20170725-30157-ibtsib.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179678/original/file-20170725-30157-ibtsib.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179678/original/file-20170725-30157-ibtsib.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179678/original/file-20170725-30157-ibtsib.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Schematic representation of a Distributed Network of Collaborating Teams (DNCT)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Distributed network</h2>
<p>A distributed network of collaborating teams (<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2429/62617">DNCT</a>) is catalyzing needed university cultural change. Provisionally named the HIBAR Research Alliance, its teams include faculty members and leaders of universities, university associations, and partner organizations, generating balanced advice, endorsement and support.</p>
<p>The teams in the HIBAR Research Alliance will boost HIBAR research through <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2429/62617">numerous pathways</a>. Some will focus on specific HIBAR themes. For example, at UBC there is a new <a href="https://blockchainubc.ca/">Blockchain team</a>. Others support HIBAR generally. For example, a team connected with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (<a href="http://www.aplu.org/">APLU</a>) encourages HIBAR information sharing, such as this article. Yet another team organizes broad cyclic discussions about possible solutions and adoption barriers, to help coordinate the work. </p>
<p>Since academic culture spans many universities, so does the HIBAR Research Alliance. This means some of the teams have members from a number of universities, while others focus on a single campus. </p>
<p>In general, networks of collaborative, voluntary teams of respected individuals, are a <a href="https://pullias.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/communities-of-trans.pdf">powerful force for changing culture</a>. They are great places for debating ideas, identifying better practices and overcoming barriers. They build shared understandings and their members can help change culture by testing and spreading new approaches, while staying true to valued principles, both local and global.</p>
<p>Clearly this transformation will require great effort. But unlike previous failed change attempts, this one has all the necessary components for success. In short, universities must, and definitely can, evolve to a better new normal in how research is discussed, valued, and rewarded. </p>
<p>The large required change effort will be rewarded by much greater benefits for all. We encourage anyone interested in advancing HIBAR research to take that first step now — become involved within your own institution and through widespread collective efforts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Society needs more research that is both excellent and useful. We can achieve this by shifting the academic culture toward research that is Highly Integrative Basic and Responsive (HIBAR).Lorne Whitehead, Professor of Physics, University of British ColumbiaCreso Sá, Professor, University of TorontoDaniel Sarewitz, Professor of Science and Society, Arizona State UniversityMarc-David L. Seidel, RBC Financial Group Professor of Entrepreneurship & Associate Professor, OBHR Division, University of British ColumbiaMichele Mossman, Research Associate and Laboratory Manager, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.