The role of the Governor General is apolitical by design; as a representative of the Crown, she is expected to use her executive powers in the interest of Canada, and not a single party, or group or administration. The integrity of the role falls apart if the governor general is perceived to be of one camp or another.
For that reason, some will argue that the Governor General should never weigh in on topics that are even remotely political. They argue that while some people have decided that, for example, the science is settled on climate change, the very fact that debate still exists on the topic should preclude the Governor General from inserting herself in the conversation, lest she appear to be of a certain allegiance.
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But she didn't do that. Instead, Payette essentially mocked people for believing in horoscopes, alternative medicine, divine intervention and for not believing in climate change, incredulous that some Canadians would hold those views "still today in learned society."
Perhaps you believe those people deserve to be mocked. That's fine. But there are more than 36 million Canadians whose job titles are not expressly to be impartial who can take on that responsibility. What's more, Canada has health, science and environment ministries that challenge climate change deniers and pseudoscientific medicine every single day. Our prime minister talks about the environment
all the time. Payette's voice is not only damaging to her own credibility as an apolitical figure, but it's also largely unnecessary.
