Rideau Hall, Monday, December 17, 2007

Welcome to Rideau Hall.

It gives my husband, Jean-Daniel, and me great pleasure to welcome you to Rideau Hall as we approach a new year, a year full of celebrations.

Two thousand and eight will mark the 400^th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City.

It will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate 400 years of a French presence in the Americas.

These celebrations will also highlight the friendship between Canada and France.

It is a very old friendship, a kind of closeness shared between sisters and brothers united in language and heart, a tie that unites two countries on either side of an ocean. 

I hope you will join us in celebrating 400 years of a French presence in the Americas, which represents an important chapter in both Canadian and French history.

The more I travel abroad and here at home, the more clearly I see that all our histories intertwine to form a single history: the history of a humanity that is constantly redefining and reinventing itself.

Last year, I visited the heart of Africa, the continent that my ancestors came from, a continent whose history is tied to my own and is embedded in my deepest memories.

I had the opportunity to visit five African countries: Algeria, Mali, Ghana, South Africa and Morocco.

And I saw that all of Africa’s hidden promises—and there are a great many—are embodied in the actions of all the women and men that I met.

Women and men from all walks of life, civilians and decision makers who refuse to withdraw into themselves and are instead responding to the serious challenges their societies are facing with courage, conviction and dignity.

The people of Africa are driven by a hope that nothing and no one could ever stop. This hope is so great that it affects their every action, their every word. It is a way of life and a way of understanding the world.

And I saw that same hope, that same conviction that anything is always possible, in the hearts and eyes of the Brazilian people that I met during a State visit I made this past summer from Salvador to Rio, passing through Sao Paulo and Brasilia along the way.

During my visit to Brazil, I was able to see all the progress that Brazilians have made over the past few years in creating a place for themselves on the world stage.

Brazilians now have hope and are more determined than ever to improve their lives and the lives of their neighbours.

I got the feeling that the time has finally come for Brazil—and for all Latin American countries—to reach its full potential. And I think we are beginning a new era of solidarity and friendship in the Americas.

I have just returned from Argentina, where I attended the swearing-in ceremony of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, and where I once again met with President Lula and all the Latin American heads of State I had encountered in March 2006 at the swearing-in ceremony of President Michelle Bachelet of Chile.

The Americas are determined to work together and to focus on the values and historical heritage they share and the ties that they have forged over the centuries. Those ties are becoming more and more about reciprocity and are a promise for the future.

At the start of the third millennium, as borders are blurred and being redrawn, it is imperative that we work together to redefine the ties that bind us.

This fall, I took part in a forum that was held in the magnificent city of Prague—the cradle of European civilization—a forum created by President Havel.

It brought people from all over the world together to examine the state of the world from a larger perspective. While in the Czech Republic, I also had the opportunity to meet with President Klaus to discuss the challenges people are facing in that part of the world.

During my opening speech at the forum, I told people how important it is that we expand our definition of responsibility.

I was adamant that we can no longer define our freedom in terms of individual interests; everyone’s interests must be included.

The more our respective interests encompass the interests of the wider world, the more fulfilled we will be and the stronger we will make our joint commitment to the human family.

You—ambassadors, high commissioners and chargés d’affaires from all over the world— have gathered here today with your families in a climate of respect, mutual esteem and peace.

You represent a diversity of cultures and languages.

That, to me, is proof positive of an undeniable willingness to bring people closer together.

Continuing our dialogue, strengthening our ties and working together towards a common goal: that is what we should focus on in 2008, strong in the values we share and in the friendship that binds us from north to south, east to west.

On behalf of all Canadians, my husband and I would like to offer our best wishes for the New Year to each of you, to your families, and to the people and governments that you represent.

May 2008 be a year of new beginnings, sharing and solidarity.