Yellowknife, Monday, June 19, 2006

My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I would like to thank you for this honour in welcoming us to the Legislative Assembly and for giving me the opportunity to speak with you today in this space opening onto the natural splendours of your territory and alive with your history.

I am pleased to have been able to bring and now present, here in the Legislative Chamber, the official registration document for the territorial arms which confirm that the most important official symbol of the Northwest Territories has been recorded in the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada.

We recently visited Nunavut and are delighted to find ourselves here to discover yet another face of the Far North. As our plane began its descent into Yellowknife, I felt as though I were approaching the very spot where the compass needle shows north. The North of myth and legend that our collective imagination associates with a spirit of adventure, the richness of Aboriginal cultures, infinite reaches of nature, the unending clarity of day, and long winter nights.

I chose this time of year, when the days are longer than the nights, for my first official visit to the Northwest Territories as governor general of Canada for one simple reason: there are so many new things to see, new people to meet, that I am counting on your long days to take in as many of your stunning landscapes as possible and to learn as much as I can about the unique and wonderful ways in which you live in harmony with the land. My eyes have been wide open since I first arrived.

For someone like me, an islander who grew up surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and a child of the South who saw the tropical forests of her native Haiti decimated to the point that the very earth became parched and the mountains made barren, the nature of the North is indeed a great wonder.

From the boreal forest to the tundra, from the majestic Mackenzie River, the longest in Canada, to Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake, the eighth and tenth largest in the world, the abundance of these lands inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples is matched only by our dreams.

This is my first visit to this territory, and I know that to miss out on the North is to miss out on the largest part of our country. It is a unique region, where First Nations, Métis and Inuit share the land with non-Aboriginal people. I feel truly privileged to share this experience of the North with you, and I sincerely hope that more Canadians will have the opportunity to live this experience as well.

So, those were the thoughts that came to my mind as I was out fishing with your premier yesterday. Every time I cast my line upon the water, I knew that I was connecting with something special, that irreplaceable resource that generations of Aboriginal peoples have watched over and respected. And as an aside, I’m proud to say that I caught a real beauty: a northern pike and the RCMP officer caught a beautiful trout.

As I was preparing for this trip, I was astonished to learn how many changes have been made to the boundaries of the Northwest Territories throughout its history and the extent to which those changes are linked to the creation of modern Canada. At one time or another, these vast stretches of land have included all of Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Yukon, and part of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Not to mention, more recently, the division in April 1999 that resulted in the birth of Nunavut.

It is because of the first encounters with the Aboriginal peoples who have long understood the essence of these lands that we have gained a greater understanding of the land north of 60 and its resources. Yellowknife, once known as Couteau-Jaune, named for an Amerindian tribe and referring to copper ore, mirrors the new Canada, which symbolizes hope in today’s world.

It is home not only to Aboriginal people, Anglophones and Francophones, but also to citizens of Vietnamese, Somali and Japanese origin who, in coming here, undoubtedly answered the call of these wide open spaces.

Moreover, I am delighted that so many inhabitants are committed to preserving the many Aboriginal languages still spoken here. And as a lover of languages, I find this most fascinating of all.

I encourage you to make every effort to keep these languages alive. They are so much a part of our collective wealth and the heritage of all Canadians. Let us never forget this.

The location of your legislative assembly also reminds me of the spectacular nature I spoke of earlier that, for me, is so closely linked to the feeling of absolute freedom that we enjoy in this country.

When I think of freedom, I often think first of the freedom to choose, to take charge of one’s own destiny, and to better one’s community. But this lesson in learning to be free begins with education, which prepares us to stand up to the threat of exclusion.

One of the biggest challenges facing young people in this territory is finding a balance between preserving the traditional northern way of life and meeting the demands of a modern world. We must help them to find that balance so that they can hold on to their traditional knowledge, so closely linked to our understanding of this land.

We must also help them to gain new knowledge so that they can participate fully in all aspects of Canadian life. This in turn will ensure that we can continue to build a better world where life is fairer and easier, particularly for the Aboriginal population, which makes up the majority in this territory.

Now at this special time, I want to congratulate all the students who are graduating from high schools and colleges in the Northwest Territories and I encourage you to pursue your studies at university. The North needs doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, architects and technicians.

But no matter what the challenge, I have absolutely no doubt that you will find the solutions. That you know best how to address the concerns and nourish the hopes of your young people as you face the challenges of the natural environment by drawing from tradition while looking resolutely to the future.

And I know the effects that climate change has had on your day‑to‑day lives, from a decline in certain species like caribou, to the melting permafrost, to increasingly shortened ice road seasons.

In a country as vast and diverse as ours, we should draw from the incredible array of experience of our fellow Canadians, regardless of their origins, and on the extraordinary knowledge of the Aboriginal peoples, so that we might explore new ways of doing things, of protecting our natural heritage. And so that we can enrich the dialogue in which we must engage on the values we all share.

I know that the young people, indeed all citizens of the Northwest Territories, can count on you in this quest for meaning and renewal, and I thank you for that. And I hope that the Northern Strategy, which I am eager to hear more about, will be an effective tool in the years to come to ensure your sustainable development while honouring your priorities and uniqueness.

You are also honouring your willingness to provide your fellow citizens with the opportunity to be healthy and acquire the training they need, to create a strong northern identity, to diversify the economy while protecting the environment.

Thank you for allowing me the time to speak with you today. I hope that the next few days will be an opportunity for discussion and sharing. I will be meeting with youth, women and seniors of all backgrounds and taking part in cultural activities such as the True North Concert.

I am looking forward to being a guest at a community feast in Fort Simpson and visiting Nahanni National Park, designated an historic treasure by UNESCO, the first natural site in the world to be given such a distinction.

Well, Premier Handley, it looks as though I’ll need a second fishing expedition to take in all of these unforgettable images and absorb all of the lessons you have to teach.

Jean-Daniel and I would like you to know how touched we are by your warm welcome and how delighted we are to have the opportunity to sit down and talk with you during our visit.

And we hope from the bottom of our hearts to forge a productive and friendly relationship with you and the people of the Northwest Territories.

Thank you.