Ottawa, Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Welcome to this edition of Art Matters. These discussion forums provide us with an opportunity for encounter, exchange, reflection and dialogue on the arts and culture in the lead-up to the presentation of the Governor General’s Awards—for the performing arts, the visual and media arts, architecture, and, what is of particular interest to us this evening and tomorrow, the Governor General’s Literary Awards.

We believe that every governor general’s award for the arts and culture creates a momentum and that it is worth seizing that momentum to share our views on cultural issues and to say that yes, art matters.

I am delighted that tonight’s panel is made up of committed women; women who love words; women who are dedicated to spreading the joy of reading and the beauty of books.

I am also delighted to acknowledge the presence here this evening of this year’s recipients of the Governor General’s Literary Awards.

I would like to ask the laureates of the 2008 Governor General’s Literary Awards to stand as I say their names:

Catherine Banks,
Marie-Claire Blais,
Christie Blatchford,
Claire and Louise Chabalier,
Sylvie Desrosiers,
John Ibbitson, who could not make it this evening,
Stéphane Jorisch,
Lazer Lederhendler,
Janice Nadeau,
Pierre Ouellet,
Michel Pleau,
Nino Ricci,
Jacob Scheier
and Jennifer Tremblay.

Let’s give them a warm round of applause.

I would also like to offer my sincerest thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts and to the Ottawa Public Library for their collaboration and support.

As we spend this evening exploring our shared passion for reading, I feel that I must approach this theme from a personal angle.

For if there is one truly rewarding, intimate experience in this life, it is the experience of reading.

I have a bit of a bias toward books. They came into my life not only as a gift of knowledge, but also as a gift of freedom, something I have never forgotten and that inspires me in every battle I wage, today as yesterday.

Yesterday, I supported the library in the disadvantaged neighbourhood where I lived for over 15 years in the southwest of Montréal. Yesterday, I helped to restock the library in the small elementary school attended by many children whose homes did not contain a single book or magazine.

Today, as governor general, I continue to support reading camps and libraries in isolated communities that are among some of the most disadvantaged in our country.

During my many travels across Canada and State visits to developing countries, I often bring boxes of books with me to hand out, including dozens of copies of the books that have won the Governor General’s Literary Awards and an extensive selection of children’s literature.

Wherever I go, I bring a little bit of you with me; a few of your words, those “brush fires” and “blazes of flesh,” to quote Aimé Césaire, that wonderful writer of the Francophonies; those brush fires and blazes of flesh that illuminate our lives with new light and nourish our sense of humanity. What a beautiful and fitting way to tell you, our authors, poets, illustrators, publishers, that your words count.

My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I thank you for being here in this space dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge and the great adventure of humanity, to share with us your passion for reading and your passion for writing, illustrating and creating.

We all look forward to hearing what you have to say. We also invite the members of the public to take part in this discussion, which we hope to enrich with a myriad of points of view.

Jean-Daniel, if you please.