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Vancouver, Thursday, March 9, 2006 Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your symposium. I was hoping to meet with you during my first official visit to British Columbia as governor general. In my installation speech, I stressed that young people would be a priority for me and that I would help ...

Ottawa, Saturday, July 1st, 2006 Let me begin by telling you what a wonderful opportunity it has been for me to travel across this country over the past nine months. I have been amazed to discover regions I knew little about, to see Canada’s breathtaking natural splendours, and to hear stories that ...

Taped at Rideau Hall, Tuesday, June 27, 2006 Dear friends, Since being appointed Governor General of Canada nearly one year ago, I have been travelling across this vast country of ours and have been amazed to discover regions I knew little about, breathtaking natural splendours, and stories that tou...

St. John’s, Thursday, July 6, 2006 My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, our daughter Marie-Éden and I would like to thank you for your very kind welcome to Newfoundland and Labrador. I would like to begin by saying that on July 1st in Ottawa, I participated in a remembrance ceremony at the National War Me...

St. John’s, Thursday, July 6, 2006 I would like to begin by thanking our hosts, their Honours the Lieutenant Governor and Mrs. Roberts, for their very kind hospitality, their thoughtfulness, and most especially the “friendliness” they have demonstrated since Jean-Daniel, Marie-Éden and I first arriv...

July 9, 2006 “It was with deep emotion that my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I learned, during our first regional visit to Newfoundland-and-Labrador, of the death of Corporal Anthony Joseph Boneca, a reservist from the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Corporal Boneca succumb...

St. John’s, Saturday, July 8, 2006 As a maritime nation, Canada has few equals. To begin with, at more than 240,000 kilometres, our coastline is, by far, the longest in the world. As the members of the Coast Guard know, more than 100,000 vessels pass through Canadian waters, carrying some 360 millio...

La Grand’Terre, Monday, July 10, 2006 I am delighted to be here with you today. And how wonderful to speak to you in French! That language we all cherish, that we must keep alive and sparkling with our varied accents throughout the Americas for generations to come. The French fact is intimately link...

Perugia, Italy, Friday, July 21, 2006 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Thank you for the great honour you do me in conferring upon me this honorary doctorate. I am especially moved because you have given me the opportunity to look back on my youth and to reflect with you on the reasons that led me to study th...

Saluto agli ex-allievi diplomati dell’Università per stranieri di Perugia, sabato 22 luglio 2006 FA FEDE SOLO IL TESTO PRONUNCIATO Vorrei tornare un istante col pensiero alla cerimonia che ha avuto luogo ieri, durante la quale ho avuto il grande onore di ricevere il Dottorato honoris causa. Ne sono ...

Perugia, Italy, July 22, 2006 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY I would like to begin by telling you how deeply moved I was by yesterday’s ceremony, in which you conferred upon me an honorary doctorate. I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to me. Being here, in this city that opened my eyes and my hear...

Discorso in occasione della consegna del Dottorato honoris causa dell’Università per stranieri di Perugia, venerdì 21 luglio 2006 Sono molto commossa per l’onore che mi fate conferendomi questa laurea honoris causa, tanto più che così facendo mi date l’occasione di tornare indietro con la memoria e ...

July 22, 2006 “My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I were very saddened to learn today in Italy about the incident near Kandahar, Afghanistan that cost the lives of Corporal Francisco Gomez and Corporal Jason Patrick Warren and that also injured eight other Canadian military personnel. The increasing ...

July 30, 2006 It has now been confirmed that Canadian Major Paeta Derek Hess-von Kruedener was one of the four soldiers posted to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in South Lebanon whose lives were tragically cut short on July 25. This sad news underlines the deep concerns raised by ...

August 3, 2006 “Today, Jean-Daniel and I share the grief of a nation. It was with great sorrow that we learned of the death of four of our soldiers and of the injuries sustained by a number of their comrades-in-arms during attacks by Taliban militia in and around Kandahar. Our thoughts are also with...

August 5, 2006 Today, we regrettably learned that Master Corporal Raymond Arndt lost his life in Afghanistan in a road accident involving a supply convoy and a civilian truck, which also injured three of his comrades. As Canadians, we are becoming increasingly conscious of the commitment that our so...

August 9, 2006“My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I are deeply saddened by this tragic accident that took the life of Master Corporal Jeffrey Scott Walsh, of Shilo, Manitoba, who had just been deployed to Afghanistan. I know that Canadians everywhere stand together to offer comfort and support to Mas...

Toronto, Sunday, August 13, 2006 As governor general of Canada, I wanted so much to be here for the official opening of the XVI International AIDS Conference, which we are honoured to host this year. This conference will give us a wonderful opportunity to form a lasting bond of fellowship. I would l...

August 11, 2006 “On this International Youth Day, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to you, Canada’s youth—so energetic, so passionate, so devoted to truth and justice. For all of you who have committed to “tackling poverty together,” the theme for this year’s youth day, this is an occasio...

August 12, 2006 “It was with great sadness that my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I learned that Corporal Andrew James Eykelenboom, who was serving with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), was a victim of a bomb attack in Spin Boldak, near the Pakistan border in Afghanistan. Our thoughts ...