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June 19, 2009 Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, on the occasion of National Aboriginal Day OTTAWA — One year after the Government of Canada delivered its official Statement of Apology to the former students of Indian residential schools, we ...

Vernissage for the "Mariage entre le frêne et le bouleau" Exhibit Mashteuiatsh, Quebec, Sunday, June 21, 2009 I would like to begin by telling you how delighted my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, our daughter Marie-Éden, and I are to be here with you. It is said that only the tree that has withstood the...

Community Feast on the Occasion of National Aboriginal Day Mashteuiatsh, Quebec, Sunday, June 21, 2009 For my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, our daughter Marie-Éden, and I, it is a great pleasure and distinct honour to share this meal with the Mashteuiatsh community, the Aboriginal people from the Sagu...

June 23, 2009 OTTAWA — Parades and processions, bonfires and fireworks, jigs and hip hop: for 175 years, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations have reflected the evolution of the customs and traditions of the people of Quebec and Francophone communities all across Canada. On June 24, 1834, Ludger Duv...

Discussion on Youth and Regional Vitality Saguenay (Chicoutimi), Monday, June 22, 2009 We are very pleased to again be here among the “bleuets,” as you are affectionately known, in this former pulp mill that has been converted into a museum—an ode, I believe, to your region’s vibrancy. Here, in the ...

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 ...