Cape Dorset, Friday, April 21, 2006

I have been looking forward to meeting with you and am delighted that you have made it to school this afternoon. I am deeply moved by your welcome. To thank you and to mark Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s 80^th birthday, I have brought you a gift. I am giving the schools and the community of Cape Dorset 30 children’s books, written by Canadian authors and published in Inuktitut, French and English. I hope that they will bring you knowledge and much joy.

As you know, our country was born of the coming together of many cultures, and the Inuit culture goes back to the very beginnings of our history. We must affirm its importance in every school in this country, particularly here, in Nunavut, where the Inuit make up more than 85% of the population.

Your efforts to promote your traditions, experiences and Inuktitut enrich not only your own lives, but the entire world as well. You give hope to those who are working hard to preserve their culture. You are a unique people and role models for us all. That should encourage you to continue.

I am the mother of a little girl named Marie-Éden, who will soon be seven years old. Like me, she was born in the poorest country in the Americas. I want Marie-Éden and all Canadian children to have the means to achieve their full potential. This is why I have made you, the young people of this country, my priority. I firmly believe that the future of your communities and of Canada lies in your hands, and that we must do what is needed to prepare you for your responsibilities. I would also like to add that the present depends on your happiness and your desire to live. This is why I have come, to listen to your hopes and dreams, as I do with my own daughter.

For me, it is important to let the voices of all people in this country, of children and adults, of young and old, be heard. Each and every one of us has the opportunity to be happy and make the world a better place. We must talk to each another; we must learn to listen. Children in the South have much to learn from children in the North. Children in the South would love to meet with children in the North. All children share the same dream—the dream of a better world. To achieve this dream, you must go on living and know that life is our most precious gift, even when we are faced with hard times, which will only make us stronger.

I know that it is not always easy for you, as young people, to find your place in the world. That you are often torn between two worlds: the world that you parents and grandparents have known and the world in which you are now living. But these are not mutually exclusive worlds; quite the contrary. These two worlds complement one another. This is from where you draw your strength.

Peter Pitseolak, for whom your school is named, was a role model for this. While deeply rooted in the Inuit culture, he used the written word, which he had learned from missionaries, to tell the story of your people. He also used the camera and other photographic equipment—modern technologies—to document the Inuit presence in this territory.

The traditional education that you receive from your elders is a priceless treasure. Ask them to tell you over and over the stories from their life. These stories will help you better understand and appreciate your culture and in turn, you will be able to share that culture with your friends in the South. But remember that what you learn in school is as valuable. And you should feel comfortable to share what you learn with the elders.

Remember also that many young people in this world do not have this same opportunity. For them, going to school is an impossible dream. That opportunity was not there for many of the elders. My grandmother always said, “Education, my children, is the key to freedom.” She was right. It gives you the freedom to choose. Because through education, you will find many more choices available to you.

I like to tell others about an experience of my own in my country of origin, Haiti, where I returned to prepare a documentary. By chance I met there, in the village where my mother was born, a little boy whose parents were very poor. They made countless sacrifices so that one of their children could go to school. This little boy walked many kilometres every day to get to school. He told me how grateful he was for his parents’ help; though they could not read or write, they enabled him to obtain an education while his brothers and sisters had to work to support the family. He knew that with what he learned, one day he would have the means to improve the lives of his loved ones and his community. He wanted to become a teacher or a doctor. He wanted to nourish minds or to heal bodies.

The story of this little Haitian boy touches me deeply. Not only because it speaks of the courage of a youth and his family helping him to achieve his dream. But also because it reminds me how very fortunate we are in this country to have such easy access to education. I want you to take full advantage of it, as you reflect on this story. And to know what a treasure you have. I sincerely thank your principals and your teachers, who guide you in this quest for knowledge.

But I am here today mainly to hear you speak. I would like you to tell me about your life and what school has meant to you. I would like to know about the difficulties you face. And I would like to hear about your traditions that you seek to preserve. In turn, I would like to speak about you and your school wherever I go in Canada and abroad. And I need your help so that together we may defeat all of the prejudices arising from a lack of understanding. I want you to be examples for all the young people who need hope and who ask only to believe that anything is possible when they do their part. I am proud of you and know that I can count on you.

Thank you for welcoming me here today. I am so pleased to know you. And now, let’s have cake.