DID OBAMA INVITE JEAN
AT THE WHITE HOUSE?
Martha Blouin, the spokesperson for the Governor General, confirmed to The Hill Times what she said before: "I will repeat to you the words that President Obama pronounced talking with the governor general. And the words were, 'I would like you to come to Washington. We need to talk further about the issue of Haiti.' He said twice to her, 'I would like you to come to Washington.' I stand by what I've said before. These are the words of the President of United States to the Governor General of Canada." Blouin also told The Hill Times that Jean told president Obama "I would like to see you in Washington." Asked if this conversation took place during the formal meeting or during the walk together towards the motorcade, Blouin said "it took place during the meeting in the presence of other persons." On Feb. 19, it was Jean who welcomed Obama on his arrival at the Ottawa airport on behalf of the government of Canada. Immediately after, they had a brief meeting. It was hailed as a success. The two were also pictured laughing together as they walked down the red carpet. Media reported the length of their meeting doubled from the scheduled 15 minutes to half an hour. But according to one source close to people who were present at the meeting between Jean and Obama, Jean was not invited to the White House and their meeting lasted only 18 minutes, not half an hour as previously reported: "During their brief meeting, the only reference to future commitments was a vague request from the President to 'stay in touch' about the situation in Haiti. Nothing more," said the source to The Hill Times. The same source told The Hill Times that even this is an exaggeration of what really happened: "After 10 minutes into the meeting, the President was already inching towards the door. He stayed only to answer questions he was asked and the meeting lasted 18 minutes, only three minutes over the scheduled time." During this time the source said, "Mr. Obama never mentioned an invitation of Mrs. Jean to the White House, unless he did it during the walk to the motorcade, when they exchanged a few words privately. But this is something I highly doubt." But the statement of Blouin leaves no room for misunderstanding, not only on the invitation to Washington, but also on the length of the meeting. "The meeting lasted about 26 minutes, according to the RCMP. That's why I can be so precise," said Blouin. Comments from the press office of Rideau Hall about the successful meeting between the Governor General and the President, flooded media reports in the days following the visit. While everybody stressed the social importance of that meeting, many were unimpressed by the content of the conversation. In fact, while everybody is concerned about the situation in Haiti, some objected to Jean's choice of this subject for two reasons. It is up to the Prime Minister of Canada to raise political concerns about foreign countries and many people would have preferred that the Governor General of Canada had raised matters of direct interest to this country and its people. However, many argue that the situation in Haiti is very important to Canada as well. We have our own troops there and we are very much involved as a country and government in Haiti. On this subject, there has been no comment either from the Prime Minister's Office, or the White House. Nonetheless, the matter raises serious constitutional questions about the role of the Governor General in Canada meddling into political matters. |