The Citadelle, Friday, October 10, 2008

My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are delighted to welcome you to the Citadelle, especially this year, when we are celebrating the 400^th anniversary of the founding of the City of Québec.

Québec has put on its finery for the occasion and has rediscovered the beauty of its riverside, thanks to the new Promenade Champlain.

Welcome to the Citadelle.

High atop Cape Diamant, where the majestic St. Lawrence River narrows—which is the original Indian meaning of the word Quebec—the Citadelle is the only military fortification in North America that remains intact.

It is an important place where significant pages of our collective history have been written. Over the course of the last three years, we have worked continuously to ensure that this historic site is open to all Canadians and visitors alike. We have held many of our events and activities here at the Citadelle: State ceremonies, official events, visitor programs, discussions and forums to allow citizens, particularly youth, the opportunity to come together and explore and exchange ideas.

We are privileged to be in your company—you, who represent the best in all of us.

You, the individuals we are honouring today, embody courage, daring and freedom.

And this has distinguished you as role models.

You represent a wide array of disciplines: many of you work in culture, the arts, heritage and history.

Others work passionately to promote human rights and justice.

Still others are leaders in health, sports, business and science.

But what you share, despite the range of your fields of endeavour, is that you have all made and continue to make a difference in our society, to say nothing of the scope of your accomplishments.

You do more than just show us the way.

You push us to go even further.

You tell us that it is indeed possible to make a difference, to push back the boundaries, to take the road less travelled.

You tell us that we must take chances.

That there is nothing worse than indifference or inaction.

The Order of Canada, this honour, is certainly an opportunity to commend and celebrate excellence, tenacity and selflessness.

But it is also—and perhaps above all—a source of inspiration.

You have overcome every obstacle, you have dreamed big, you have always tried to improve yourselves, you have striven to make the impossible a reality.

And you have done so without ever losing sight of the well-being of your fellow Canadians.

Without ever losing sight of the importance of improving the lives of others and respecting human dignity, here at home and around the world.

I believe that the honour we are bestowing upon you today can serve to inspire the rest of us—especially our youth—to pursue our own dreams and to try to change the world for the better.

The freedom we have in Canada to express ourselves and contribute to the greater good is our greatest treasure.

On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to convey our gratitude.

You have shared with us not only the wealth of your thoughts, knowledge, talents, experience and contributions, but also the fire of your passion and the strength of your conviction.

Thank you, one and all!