Transcript
Hello everyone. Atelihai!
Wherever you are in our great country, greetings to you all.
A special salute to the men and women who serve Canada in uniform, and to the people of the First nations, the Métis and the Inuit.
Every year on this first day of July, at the beginning of the summer season, so spectacular and so vital in these northern latitudes, we take a moment to think about our good fortune and to celebrate who we are.
This year is a little different. Because we have had to look out for one another like never before. Because this year, we have been tested.
We are just now carefully emerging from months of fighting a deadly invisible enemy, with unprecedented measures, and thanks to the tireless work of those who helped slow down the virus and kept the country running.
Have you ever watched toddlers interact with one another? They will often try to take away each other’s toys, and act selfishly, but a parent or a caregiver will come along to teach them to share and to be generous.
We are taught the basics of social interaction from the very beginning.
Yet, if you observe further, you might see something else kick in: a basic instinct. Especially if one baby starts crying, the other will want to console and to stop the hurt. The baby will show compassion.
So are we born with compassion or is it acquired in our upbringing? And if it is within us, as we grow up and mature, does it get re-emphasized or does it get destroyed – depending on our life experience?
I believe there are many crossroads, along the road of life, where we have to make choices and decide which direction we take. This is exactly what we witnessed throughout the country in these trying times.
The virus brought physical distancing and social isolation, and pain and death.
In response, Canadians chose “compassion and solidarity.” They chose to live with one eye on their individual needs and the other eye on the common good.
And we were quick to reinvent ourselves: from teleworking to online classes, from virtual artistic performance to “2-meter shopping”, we have adapted and found creative ways to connect, to support each other, to reach out, to graduate, to show gratitude, to play outside, to train, to perform and to inspire.
The pandemic has also forced us to look beyond ourselves. Because we love each other, even at a distance. It has forced us to make sure: that we support workers, families and businesses; that we stand for the most vulnerable, the less fortunate; that we ensure the security and well-being of all; and that we denounce hatred and violence in all its forms. Because the inequalities and the racial divides of our society resurfaced in a fury, exposing, again, the flaws and shortcomings that we so need to address.
Our diversity is one of our greatest assets. There would be no inventions, no creativity, no freedom, if we were all the same. What makes us unique, our differences are the strength of our nation’s fabric.
Just like the toddlers grow into adults, did a mature 153-year-old Canada grow into a caring nation?
Will we remember the lessons of the 2020 pandemic, of the unspeakable shooting in Nova Scotia, of the importance of reconciliation? I am confident that we have, and that we will not remain indifferent, because we care.
Today let us celebrate the resilience and the generosity of everyone throughout the country. Strong and free.
Happy Birthday Canada!
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette and the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General gratefully acknowledge and thank all those who contributed to the creation of this video.
In order of appearance:
Courtesy of The London Free Press, a division of Postmedia Network Inc., featuring Mya Van Luyk, Wendy Van Luyk, Diana Vestering & Nancy Joyal
Whole Way House & Hundredfold Production
Dr. Pierre Tessier and l’hôpital Sacré-Cœur
Cinémask, Carla Clarke & Claude Collins
VGH UBC Hospital Foundation & Queen Elizabeth Elementary School
Émile & Florence Marin
David Morin
Newfoundland and Labrador English School District
Carolyn Ellis-Watts (NO RESALE, MANDATORY CREDIT AFP/JORGE UZON)
Collège Mont-Saint-Louis, Montréal
Riley Smith for The Canadian Press
Jessy Brethour & Meatheads Grill
Dominic Laporte (artist) & Wayne Cuddington (photographer)
Photograph by Adam Scotti, featuring David Kawai & Sean Kilpatrick
Marie-Ève Lévesque & Succès scolaire
Courtesy of the Sākihiwē Festival
Hallelujah
Quartom: Julien Patenaude, Benoit Le Blanc, Philippe Gagné and Philippe Martel
Singer: Marie-Christine Depestre
Musician/Guitarist: Matt Laurent, Laurier Payette-Flynn
Sound Engineer: Ghyslain Luc Lavigne
Arrangement: Julien Patenaude
Beaulieu Artistik Management (Lise Boyer) and the team from Studios Piccolo in Montréal
Yannick Nézet-Séguin & l’Orchestre Métropolitain
Isabelle Horner & Manon Lacombe
MAPP MTL in collaboration with the borough of Ville-Marie and Les couleurs essentielles
Julia Romualdi, Special Olympics Canada
Henri Aubertin, Julie McDonald, Laurier Payette-Flynn
Jacqueline Carey, André Payette
Jessica Côté-Guimond
Trade Commissioner – Délégués commerciaux
Michael McDonald for The Canadian Press
RCMP - GGPD
Families of the Humboldt Broncos:
Brad & Marilyn Cross
Marilyn Hay
Tanya & Viviana LaBelle
Scott & Laurie Thomas
Chris & Richelle Beaudry
Carol Brons
Kurt, Celeste, Kiana & Karysa Leicht
City of Humboldt:
His Worship Rob Muench, Mayor of Humboldt
Councillor Roger Nordick
Councillor Lorne Pratchler
Penny Lee, Communications Manager
Mike Kwasnica, Director of Protective Services/Fire Chief
Darrell Wickenhauser, Deputy Fire Chief
Staff Sgt. Al Presler, RCMP
Cpl. Ivan Ottenbreit, RCMP
Because of time, not all special moments could be shared—in alphabetical order:
Thank you to those who helped behind the scenes—in alphabetical order:
Jihan Ammar
Larissa Cahute
Heather Cameron Thomson
Andrew Cherniawsky
Andrea Gordon
Liza Islam
Carmen Moore
Claudine Nézet-Séguin
Elena Novikova
Music credits:
“Plus tôt”
Composed and performed on the piano by Alexandra Stréliski
Licensed courtesy of Secret City Records Inc.
Published by Secret City Publishing Inc. and White Turtle Publishing (administered by Secret City Publishing Inc.)
Hallelujah
Written by Leonard Cohen
Published by Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)
Production Team:
Director: Jeanne Leblanc
Cameraman and film editor: Naomi Silver-Vézina
Sound mixing and sound editing: Ghyslain Luc Lavigne and the staff of the Office of the Secretary of the Governor General
Operator – Second Unit: Henri Aubertin
Sound technician – Second Unit: Laurier Payette-Flynn