Today marked the start of the visit of Her Excellency The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., the Governor General of Canada, to New Brunswick. The theme of the Governor General’s visit is to celebrate youth and encourage dialogue. Her Excellency is to be accompanied on the visit by His Excellency Mr. Jean-Daniel Lafond C.C., and Their Excellencies’ daughter, Marie-Éden. Their Excellencies and Marie-Éden are to attend the opening ceremony of the Grand Rassemblement Jeunesse 2009, a youth celebration of Acadian culture.
The Governor General and the vice-regal party are then to visit Le Pays de la Sagouine, a group of actors and artists that seek to teach Canadians about Acadian culture. On the topic of the Acadian celebrations to take place over the next few days, Her Excellency said, “I am among women and men, young people for whom history is a magnificent lesson in perseverance, and that now more than ever is the time to remember that we have agreed to open borders and reject standardized cultures.”
The last day of the Governor General’s visit has Her Excellency presenting six Canadians with the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award. The Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award recognizes those citizens who, through volunteering, have enriched the lives of those in their community. Recipients have generally never before been awarded a national or provincial honour. The award was created by the late The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc P.C., C.C., C.M.M., O.N.B., C.D., the 25th Governor General of Canada.
The Governor General is also set to present The Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award to ten Canadian youth. This awards program, set up 53 years ago by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh K.G., K.T., G.B.E., O.M., P.C.(U.K.), P.C.(Ca.), A.C., Q.S.O., G.C.L., A.D.C.(P.) (the consort to Her Majesty The Queen of Canada), encourages youth to be active and to embark on new activities and pursue their interests. The Governor General is the national chair of the Canadian branch of the awards program.
Their Excellencies and Marie-Éden are then to host a Governor General’s Youth Dialogue session, a part of Her Excellency’s ‘Can We Talk’ tour of Canada. The Governor General is going to engage youth in a discussion of how the arts can be used as a tool for peace. The Governor General has already engaged the youth of Alberta and Nunavut, and the tour throughout Canada is set to continue to engage youth throughout the nation. The goal of the youth dialogue is for youth to be “encouraged to become catalysts for hope and social transformation in their communities.”
This has been an absolutely fabulous term so far for Her Excellency! Canadians can only hope that the Governor General’s term is extended—there is no constitutional rule for the number of years that a Governor General can serve for, of course. Unfortunately, that seems improbable under the leadership of The Right Honourable Stephen Harper P.C., M.P. (Calgary Southwest), the Prime Minister of Canada—he seems to have a ‘tumultuous’ relationship, at best, with Her Majesty’s present viceregal representative. I hope that the prime minister sees the tremendous good that the Governor General has done since Her Excellency’s appointment.
Sources
The Governor General and the vice-regal party are then to visit Le Pays de la Sagouine, a group of actors and artists that seek to teach Canadians about Acadian culture. On the topic of the Acadian celebrations to take place over the next few days, Her Excellency said, “I am among women and men, young people for whom history is a magnificent lesson in perseverance, and that now more than ever is the time to remember that we have agreed to open borders and reject standardized cultures.”
The last day of the Governor General’s visit has Her Excellency presenting six Canadians with the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award. The Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award recognizes those citizens who, through volunteering, have enriched the lives of those in their community. Recipients have generally never before been awarded a national or provincial honour. The award was created by the late The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc P.C., C.C., C.M.M., O.N.B., C.D., the 25th Governor General of Canada.
The Governor General is also set to present The Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award to ten Canadian youth. This awards program, set up 53 years ago by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh K.G., K.T., G.B.E., O.M., P.C.(U.K.), P.C.(Ca.), A.C., Q.S.O., G.C.L., A.D.C.(P.) (the consort to Her Majesty The Queen of Canada), encourages youth to be active and to embark on new activities and pursue their interests. The Governor General is the national chair of the Canadian branch of the awards program.
Their Excellencies and Marie-Éden are then to host a Governor General’s Youth Dialogue session, a part of Her Excellency’s ‘Can We Talk’ tour of Canada. The Governor General is going to engage youth in a discussion of how the arts can be used as a tool for peace. The Governor General has already engaged the youth of Alberta and Nunavut, and the tour throughout Canada is set to continue to engage youth throughout the nation. The goal of the youth dialogue is for youth to be “encouraged to become catalysts for hope and social transformation in their communities.”
This has been an absolutely fabulous term so far for Her Excellency! Canadians can only hope that the Governor General’s term is extended—there is no constitutional rule for the number of years that a Governor General can serve for, of course. Unfortunately, that seems improbable under the leadership of The Right Honourable Stephen Harper P.C., M.P. (Calgary Southwest), the Prime Minister of Canada—he seems to have a ‘tumultuous’ relationship, at best, with Her Majesty’s present viceregal representative. I hope that the prime minister sees the tremendous good that the Governor General has done since Her Excellency’s appointment.
Sources
- Office of the Secretary to the Governor General | homepage • news release
- Grand Rassemblement Jeunesse 2009 | homepage (French only)
- Le Pays de la Sagouine | homepage • about the tours