If you don’t mind living in public housing (aka Rideau Hall), being Governor-General of the Great White North isn’t a bad gig.
A case could be made that when it comes to taxpayer-funded freeloading, this one is near the top.
Like the Senate, it is an appointment. Unlike the Senate, you don’t have to apply and wait in an elevated state of anxiety for ‘The Call’. Senators don’t get free room and board, have to pump gas themselves and make their own breakfast.
The Gov-Gen job pays $342,100 a year, which is about four times the income of an average Canadian family. And when it comes time to retire after a few years of shaking hands and giving speeches, you try and get by on an annual pension of $150,000 … and an annual $206,000 expense allowance.
Apparently, retired governor generals are so popular (dare you to name the last three), they are in great demand on the social circuit.
Meanwhile, for the rest of us, it’s dial-a-prayer and lottery tickets.
HITS AND MISSES: Last year more Americans died of drug overdoses than killed (58,300) during the entire Vietnam War. According to one statistic, overdoses killed 7,300 Canadians last year. … Can somebody come up with a tracking device for misplaced eye glasses and TV remote controls? I’m tired of bothering St. Anthony. … When did you ever hear of a pet waiting in an animal hospital/clinic for eight hours to see a vet? … Rick Greer and Rick Martin, two former rivals, spotted on the Summerheights links last week playing a friendly round. Between 1976 and 2005, Greer owned the Cornwall Golf and Country Club course, winning a record 17 club championships. Martin claimed five titles. He won his first at age 18. Both were, and still are, the consummate gentlemen, on and off the course. … We live in an information age, yet media outlets are falling like king pins.
AROUND AND ‘BOUT: An e-mail from long-time reader Earle Macpherson points out that there was no lunch counter at The Met Store on Pitt. The lunch counter was at the Woolworth store just south of The Met. Earle says his sister, Ann, worked behind the counter. “I would stop on my way home from St. Columban’s Boys’ School for a butter scotch sundae, courtesy of my sister,” he recalled.
THIS AND THAT: Donald Trump likes to call out foreign criminals coming into the U.S. Yet, as a convicted felon, Trump, without special exemption, is barred from 38 countries. The list includes Cuba, China and Mexico. He’s okay with North Korea. … If ever there was a quintessential odd couple in junior hockey it was Floyd Crawford head coach of the Royals and Tony Zappia his assistant. … Jim Deshaies, the classy Massena native who spent 12 seasons pitching in the Majors, is colour commentator for the Chicago Cubs TV network. His late mother, Sheila (nee Fox) was born and raised in Cornwall.
THIS MONTH IN 1970: A plan to transform Cornwall Canal into a recreational waterway was presented to council by a civic group. It proposed reducing the canal depth to eight feet between Gloucester Street and Brookdale Avenue with a small restaurant, complete with patio, and mini marina renting canoes and paddle boats at the foot of Pitt Street. The ambitious plan also called for the canal banks to be lowered with lighting and walkway. The plan died when the canal was filled in late 1971. …. The federal government announced that the country’s 200,000 Canada Pension Plan (CPP) recipients would receive a two per cent increase, raising the maximum monthly payment to $112.50. The maximum death benefit was increased to $540. …. Cornwall Celtics defeated Rexdale 17-9 to win the Ontario Lacrosse Association junior B title. John MacDonald and Russ Disotell had four goals each. … Dr. Donal Conway joined the Lancaster Medical Clinic. … The Ontario government raised the minimum wage to $1.50 an hour from $1.30. … The new fire station, built at a cost of $227,000, was nearing completion. … A papermakers union representative called people who complained about pollution from the Cornwall mill “purveyors of doom” trying to kill off the paper-making industry. He said that perhaps objectionable, the pollution created by the mill was not harmful. “It’s the sort of pollution which is created by industry on behalf of people who rely on it for a pay cheque,” he said. To his members, he said, the odour is “perfume.” … Boston Bruins defenceman Ted Green was found not guilty in an Ottawa courtroom of common assault. The charge was laid by Ottawa police after a stick-swinging duel with Wayne Maki of the St. Louis Blues in a 1969 pre-season game. An earlier trial found Maki not guilty. Judge Michael Fitzpatrick of Cornwall was hand-picked to hear the case. … Cyril (Cy) Denneny, who was born in Farran’s Point but called Cornwall his home town, died at age 78. Denneny played 11 seasons in the NHL and was on five Stanley Cup winners. He was buried in Ottawa. … Ron Branchaud won the North End Fastball League batting title with a .369 average. John Fyfe was second with .354.
TRIVIA: This former MPP, who served in the Bill Davis cabinet, was born in Quebec but once lived in Apple Hill.
QUOTED: I never learned anything from a man who agreed with me. – Dudley Field Malone.
ONE FINAL THING: One of my favourite reads in the once daily Standard-Freeholder was the Saturday “Wordwise” column, penned by retired high school English/drama teacher and master wordsmith, Gerry Lauzon. It was a keeper, as they say. Had a 20-year run. It was a study of a word and how its meaning changed over time. Always told Gerry that he should publish a collection of his “Wordwise” columns. Sadly, Gerry passed away on Aug. 22.
