Search

26th Colloque de l’Académie des lettres du Québec Montréal, Friday, October 17, 2007 A STATE OF BLACKNESSAimé Césaire’s Way Nwè kon an péché môwtèl([Translation] As black as sin) “[Translation] I am an animal, a Negro” Arthur Rimbaud, Une saison en enfer “[Translation] Men with African blood in thei...

Calgary, Thursday, January 25, 2007 I am here today to extend my greetings and to recognize your efforts to make Canada a “citizen society,” that is, a conscientious society that is concerned about its fellow citizens all over the world. But I am also here to recognize and celebrate that same spirit...

Ottawa, Monday, January 29, 2007 It is a great pleasure to be with you today. I know that out of a total membership of almost 41,000, there are less than one hundred Honorary Fellows, and so I am mindful of the privileged company I have joined… …although, to be honest, I don’t know how I feel about ...

Ottawa, Friday, February 2, 2007 Winter is finally here! It might have taken a little longer to get to us this year, but it is right on time for Winterlude! What great pleasures await us: treks in the woods—on skis or snowshoes—skating on the Rideau Canal… For many of us, the crisp air and gently fa...

Rideau Hall, Friday, February 9, 2007 Today’s ceremony is especially significant. This year, the Order of Canada is reaching an important milestone. It was forty years ago that Prime Minister Lester Pearson instituted the Order of Canada to help mark our country’s centennial. Under the Governor Gene...

Halifax, Tuesday, February 13, 2007 My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are thrilled to be here, in Nova Scotia, with people whose generosity, compassion and courage inspire hope in so many of their fellow Canadians. “Breaking down solitudes” is the motto I have chosen for my mandate. It is the im...

Halifax, Monday, February 12, 2007 It is with great honour that I join you this evening in this wonderful celebration of African Nova Scotian history and culture. It is very hard for me to contain my emotions, as I look into your eyes and see them glowing with the rich heritage that you all share. Y...

Halifax, Tuesday, February 13, 2007 It is a great pleasure for my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and me to be here in Halifax on our first official visit to Nova Scotia. And it is a great honour to accept this unprecedented invitation to address your legislature, the home of the first form of responsibl...

Halifax, Tuesday, February 13, 2007 My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are pleased to be in such fine company at this dinner graciously hosted by the lieutenant governor, the Honourable Mayann E. Francis, on the occasion of our first official visit to Nova Scotia. We are thrilled to be in the vib...

Rideau Hall, Thursday, February 15, 2007 The portrait being unveiled today is on a par with a country that knows no bounds, a country—as Vigneault sang—whose spirit has been strengthened more by winter than by any other season. Look at the portraits in the foyer. Each of the faces of those who serve...

Dartmouth, Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Good morning. I would like to thank the Coady International Institute, and especially Mary Coyle, for organizing this meeting with you. I would like to leave as much time as possible for the discussion, because I am very interested in hearing your ideas about ...

Ottawa, Friday, February 16, 2007 Of all the citizenship ceremonies over which I have presided as governor general, this is a rather special and—I might add—solemn occasion. Sixty years ago, on January 3, 1947, the very first citizenship ceremony took place right here at the Supreme Court of Canada,...

Montreal, Friday, February 16, 2007 The subject that brings us together tonight is of utmost importance. We have been called together by our hearts, our heritage and our fraternity. We know, of course, that diseases do not have the same prejudices that people do. But is it obvious that they are some...

Ottawa, Monday, February 19, 2007 In today’s ceremony, which brings together different decorations, we recognize the importance of all aspects of the military’s work. Fighting for peace, progress and stability in Afghanistan, our men and women in uniform must constantly demonstrate the highest level...

Opening address at the 4th Rencontres internationales du documentaire and Franco-American co-productions Montreal, Wednesday, February 7, 2007 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY First of all, I would like to thank Yves Jeanneau and Jean Cressant for inviting me to say a few words to introduce the “General-inter...

Cuvée 2007 Gala Niagara Falls, Ontario, Saturday, March 3, 2007 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY I would first like to say how pleased I am to have been chosen as Patron of Cuvée Weekend. Exactly a year ago, I had the great pleasure of attending this annual celebration of the Ontario wine industry. I enjoyed ...

Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 8, 2007 I can hardly believe I am here with you today, in Afghanistan. I have come a long way to deliver a message of hope to the women of this country. Let me look at you. I want to etch this image of you slowly into my memory. I want this image to stay with me f...

Ottawa, Tuesday, March 20, 2007 There are those who shrink from the issue of family violence—who recoil from the thought of one spouse attacking the other, or attacking their children. In part, I can understand their revulsion; as someone who has seen it first-hand, and who has heard many personal a...

Rideau Hall, Wednesday, March 21, 2007 Good morning and thank you for joining me as we mark the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in the British Empire. This anniversary is important because it commemorates the day in which trading and enslaving human beings was no longer legal on ...

Rideau Hall, Wednesday, March 21, 2007 My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are thrilled to launch the third exhibit in the Ambassadors’ Room at Rideau Hall—with the help of the country’s cultural and museum organizations—just a few days before the presentation of the Governor General's Awards in V...