Vancouver, Thursday, March 9, 2006

I am truly delighted to be here.

And I wish to start by addressing a persistent rumour: You may have heard that I accepted the position of governor general because of the opportunity it would afford me to visit Vancouver more often. I cannot completely refute this claim. I love your city and have already confessed that since my first visit here, I have always thought that if I were to choose to live anywhere else in Canada outside of Montreal, it would be here.

Although Vancouver is almost as far from Quebec as it is possible to be in this country, I feel completely at home here. Not just because of the warmth of the welcome I have received. But your mayor—in addition to English, Cantonese and Italian—speaks French! We both really impressed people in Torino, chatting with them in Italian, fluently. Sam and I have this in common: we believe the more languages you speak, the broader your horizons. Languages allow one to connect to so many other experiences, human perspectives, ideas and dreams.

Indeed, British Columbia boasts a vibrant Francophone community, more than 63 000 strong. From its early origins in Maillardville here in the Lower Mainland, the French presence in BC has continued to grow and thrive. It now supports many community organizations, like La Boussole and others, which offer cultural events, translation services, and a place to meet and connect.

Moreover, British Columbians of many cultural backgrounds are embracing both of our official languages. It is heartening to learn that your province boasts more school children in French immersion programs than any other province in the country! I was impressed to see so many children greet me in French as I arrived in Victoria.

Mayor Sullivan, Sam, I have already had the pleasure of meeting you under the most auspicious of circumstances. Just two weeks ago, we celebrated the exceptional performance of Canada’s team at the Winter Olympics in Torino. It was truly heartwarming to witness the joyous victories of amazing young athletes like Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen on the world stage.

No doubt Canadians across this country shared in the thrill of their achievements and were moved by the pride they showed on the podium as our national anthem played behind them.

But here in Vancouver, you must have felt a special ripple of excitement, as you anticipate your own opportunity to share the truly spectacular gifts of your own city as host of the International Olympics and Paralympics in 2010.

Those gifts are reflected not only in the beauty of your scenery and the great diversity of your citizens, with whom the whole world will feel at home, but also in the vision of your leaders and the generosity of your hearts.

I am speaking here of the inspirational commitment that your city has made to ensuring that Vancouver’s games are a model of inclusivity, and that no member of your community will be impacted negatively by their presence. I hope that your unique approach becomes a model of the world and part of the criteria that future Olympic communities must commit to meeting.

I salute you for making inclusiveness a condition of Olympic sponsorship. For involving the First Nations right from the start. For insisting that private sector partners support job training in the Downtown Eastside. For ensuring that corporate sponsors fund social development initiatives to enhance life not just in Vancouver, but throughout the province.

What better goal than to use the Olympics and Paralympics to build capacity—not just in sport, but in volunteerism, in the arts and culture, in community in the broadest sense of the word?

I also understand that integral to this program is the drive to help create greater opportunities for people with disabilities.

Mayor Sullivan, your insistence on finding a way to carry the flag at the closing ceremonies in Torino provided a powerful symbol. In showing the world that nothing is impossible for those who dream big, you underlined the importance of ensuring that all people are integrated into our societies and able to contribute their gifts.

Disabilities are among the characteristics that we have allowed to isolate or marginalize people, to deny them the rights and the responsibilities of full citizenship.

I have pledged to use my office to focus attention on breaking down such solitudes—the differences of all kinds that continue to separate us: age and geography, gender and ethnicity, language and religion, poverty and, indeed, disability.

And so I take inspiration and heart from the work that you are doing here to build community and connection among all your citizens—from Main and Hastings to 41^st and Granville, from those with the most power and the biggest voice, to those who struggle at the margins, silenced by their difference.

Even the richest nation in the world cannot afford to waste the resources of one single human being. In the context of a new global environment still rife with misunderstanding and violence, the capacity to build trust and consensus, to make room for and capitalize on the unique contributions of each and every citizen, is among our most important collective responsibilities.

And your profoundly multicultural city—where people from all corners of the world live, and work, and thrive in harmony, where “English as a second language” students outnumber the Canadian-born, where the standard of living is consistently rated among the top in world surveys—is a beacon of what is possible, a model of how diverse communities can live and prosper together.

Yesterday at my arrival, I had a very meaningful meeting with organizers and youth from MOSAIC. This Vancouver organization has been facilitating the integration of new immigrants and refugees in their new country for thirty years. Quite an achievement.

I look forward to learning more about your initiatives. I am certain that you have much to teach us all, and I hope to be able to share your stories with others across the country, to build a genuine collaboration that I can maintain in the years to come.

Thank you for your extraordinarily warm welcome.