Search

Ottawa, Wednesday, June 28, 2006 As commander-in-chief of the Canadian Forces, and as honorary colonel of the Governor General’s Foot Guards and the Canadian Grenadier Guards, I am very pleased to have this opportunity to inspect the Ceremonial Guard as it begins its summer duties. As many of you kn...

Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, December 6, 2006 When we think of South Africa, Soweto is always engraved in our memory as Canadians. Soweto where Archbishop Desmund Tutu and Nelson Mandela lived and inspired a whole generation. It’s good to be here with you. It is an honour. I like to think of m...

Ottawa, Tuesday, November 7, 2006 I want to begin by saying “thank you” for that wonderful presentation! Through your songs and dances, you have really captured the history of your school. When I received your letter inviting me to this celebration, I asked myself: why is a 50th anniversary so signi...

October 19, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to meet with many Aboriginal youths, including a group that accompanied a delegation of veterans to Normandy to pay tribute to the spirit of the warriors who fell in Europe during the Second World War. I...

September 26, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean We must recognize the efforts and commitment of so many young people across Canada. For example, I am reminded of the members of the Grassroots Youth Collaborative in Toronto. In February 2006, I witnessed the enthusiasm with which they support tro...

October 6, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean I often hear — rather ironically — that I spend a lot of my time handing out medals. But behind each of these medals and the many Governor General’s awards that I have presented is a wish: to recognize and thus encourage the excellence, engagement, ta...

September 28, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Yesterday was a very special day for me. Exactly one year ago, on September 27, 2005, I became Canada’s 27th governor general. Since then, I have travelled from coast to coast to coast, visiting 8 provinces, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. I...

August 27, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean On Sunday, October 22, in Montreal, I took part in an international conference on violence against women. Hundreds of representatives, women and men alike, from over 40 countries came together to discuss their commitment, expertise and the actions tha...

October 16, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Over the past year, I came to appreciate what Canadians have in common and everything that precisely defines our citizenship. Wherever I went, I recognized the same good will, the same commitment to weighing the interests of some against the needs of...

November 6, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean The monument we unveiled yesterday represents four centuries of history. No small undertaking! The choice was narrowed down to fourteen individuals who helped to shape our country. Women and men whose heroism set them apart, from the seventeenth cent...

November 19, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Canada’s governors general have traditionally played an important role in maintaining relations with other countries by undertaking State visits abroad. Each year, the governor general hosts a significant number of State visits. As is the custom in ...

November 21, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Here I am on the soil of Africa. This emotionally charged journey begins in the heart of Algeria who is awakening after several difficult years – this decade of blood in which so many Algerians suffered. I am here to salute their courage and determi...

November 28, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Mali will resonate for a long time in our spirits and hearts. As soon as we arrived and were welcomed, the tone was set. Hundreds of women on the tarmac were hailing me to the cry of “solidarity among the women of the whole wide world.” And it was u...

December 1, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean My journey across Africa follows the circuit of hope that I chose to counteract the bleak outlook we often pin on this continent, an outlook that focuses exclusively on tragedies. Yes, there are enormous challenges, and many realities are troubling; ...

December 8, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Barely 12 years ago, it would have been impossible for me, even as Governor General of Canada, to walk freely, to sit on a bench in public, or to enter certain buildings in South Africa. At that time, if you were black, “coloured,” or of Indian desce...

December 12, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean When we left Cape Town in South Africa for Casablanca in Morocco—from the southern tip of Africa to the Maghreb—we could not help but think of the world we were flying over, this continent of a thousand contrasts, where hundreds of cultures derived ...

December 21, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Throughout the entire African trip, from the northern edge of the Sahara to the southern tip, we were very conscious of the fact that we were crossing an enormous continent, one that is rich in contrasts and human history, and especially rich in a p...

December 27, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Citizen Voices has been on line for three months now. We started with an initial chat discussion, followed by 30 blogs and 45 discussion forums on various themes, several of which were inspired by your own initiatives. The State visit to Africa was ...

December 5, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean This year marks 100 years of Canadian presence in Ghana. Africa’s white fathers arrived in Navrongo in 1906. But it was not until 1957, when Ghana achieved independence, that co-operation between Canada and this West African country really picked up ...

Blog from Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean first published on September 27, 2006 on www.citizenvoices.gg.ca We must recognize the efforts and commitment of so many young people across Canada. For example, I am reminded of the members of the Grassroots Youth Collaborative in Toronto. In February 2006, I...