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Rideau Hall, Thursday, December 1, 2011 I am delighted to welcome you to Rideau Hall for this ceremony. This building has been the official residence of every governor general since our country’s Confederation in 1867, and it is where conversations about Canada and the world take place. One of my gr...

Parliament Hill, Thursday, December 1, 2011 Who among us does not feel a rush of joy and anticipation at the illumination of Christmas lights at this time of the year? As a father and grandfather, I often look at the faces of children when I want to glimpse a spontaneous response to the world. And t...

Rideau Hall, Friday, December 2, 2011 Good morning and welcome to Rideau Hall. First, allow me to say that it is an honour to be here with you to celebrate your accomplishments. Your careers have taken you across Canada and around the world. You have helped so many people and defended the values tha...

Message from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, on the occasion of World AIDS Day I have seen what humanity can accomplish in the pursuit of knowledge, with innovation and determination as our tools. Since HIV/AIDS was first discovered over four decades a...

December 5, 2011 Message from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, on the Occasion of International Volunteer Day OTTAWA—Across Canada and around the world, volunteers are joining in common cause to build smarter, more caring communities. Each year, Interna...

Rideau Hall, Monday, December 5, 2011 I am delighted to welcome you to Rideau Hall to mark International Volunteer Day and to celebrate Cuso International’s 50th anniversary. For the past five decades, the members of your organization have volunteered around the world, helping people in need and bui...

December 6, 2011 Message from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston Governor General of Canada, on the Occasion of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women OTTAWA—On December 6, 1989, in a place of higher learning and innovation, an abhorrent act of violence ...

Ottawa, Tuesday, December 6, 2011 It is an honour to be here at the Royal Canadian Mint at the striking of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. This medal will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen’s accession to the Throne, which takes place exactly two months from today....

Yellowknife, Thursday, December 8, 2011 Let me begin by saying what a privilege it is to address you, the members of Joint Task Force North, here at your Yellowknife headquarters. I have been looking forward to this visit, to hearing from you and to learning more about the important work you do in t...

Yellowknife, NWT, Thursday, December 8, 2011 Thank you for welcoming my wife, Sharon, and me to the Legislative Assembly and to the Northwest Territories for our first official visit. While this is the first time that I have been here as governor general, it is not my first visit. More than 25 years...

Yellowknife, NWT, Thursday, December 8, 2011 It is my honour to be here on my first official visit to the Northwest Territories to present the Massey Medal to Mr. David Livingstone. Let me share with you a story I read in Champlain’s Dream, by David Fischer. In France, at the beginning of the 1600s,...

December 10, 2011 Message from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, on the Occasion of Human Rights Day OTTAWA— I am delighted to join with all Canadians as we mark Human Rights Day, whose inspiring theme this year is “Celebrate Human Rights.” Since the ado...

Rideau Hall, Monday, December 12, 2011 Good morning and welcome to Rideau Hall. It is a pleasure to be here to celebrate the men and women of all ages who bring Canadian history alive. At last year’s presentation, I said: “As a law professor, I would always ask my students to consider the historical...

Rideau Hall, Tuesday, December 13, 2011 It is a pleasure to welcome you to this presentation of the Military Valour and Meritorious Service decorations. As governor general and commander-in-chief of Canada, I am delighted to recognize such deserving recipients, and to welcome your families, friends ...

Montréal, Wednesday, December 14, 2011 It is a pleasure to join you this afternoon to illuminate this wonderful clock tower in the historic Old Port of Montréal. In his great symphonic tribute to the St. Lawrence, pianist and composer André Gagnon evoked the many moods of this river that is so impor...

December 28, 2011 Governor General’s New Year’s Message OTTAWA— In the little over a year since I was installed as Governor General, Sharon and I have had the opportunity to travel to almost every corner of our country—and to meet with Canadians from nearly every walk of life. It has been a remarkab...

Yellowknife, NWT, Thursday, December 8, 2011 For thousands of years, the hunters of the Mackenzie Mountain ice patches lived a distinct way of life, and this exhibit and the work being done at this centre are so important to helping us understand the culture and environment of your ancestors. The wa...