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Canada has a new Governor-General. Inuk leader Mary Simon will become the first Indigenous person to be the Queen’s representative in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced the former chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, which represents about 180,000 Inuit of Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Chukotka (in Russia), will succeed Julie Payette.
Parliamentary Reporters Kristy Kirkup and Janice Dickson report on today’s announcement here.
News of the appointment comes amid the expectation of an imminent election. Mr. Trudeau would have to meet with the Governor-General to seek the dissolve Parliament so the campaign could begin.
However, both Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Simon told a news conference at the Canadian Museum of History that they have not yet discussed the issue.
“We did not discuss elections at all,” said Mr. Trudeau.
Asked about the issue, Ms. Simon said today is the first day of her appointment. “I have not talked to the Prime Minister about the election,” she said.
Mr. Trudeau said abut 100 names were considered en route to a short list of a “small number” of prospects with particular interest in the ability to both lead and serve, with an approach anchored in humility and thoughtfulness.
Ms. Simon is not fluent in French, a reality Mr. Trudeau said was subject to “lengthy” conversations with Ms. Simon.
He noted she was born in northern Quebec where her mother tongue is Inuktitut, and that she learned English as a second language, but that the federal school she attended did not teach French.
“I am firmly committed to learning French,” said Ms. Simon. “I have taken a number of French lessons and always wanted to learn French. I never really had the opportunity because my work was full-time all my life.”
Ms. Simon, also a former ambassador to Denmark, said she understands her role is apolitical, but knows there are important responsibilities with her role that will help the working relationship of Canadians and Indigenous peoples.
She added she does not see a conflict between being Indigenous and being the Queen’s representative in Canada.
“I don’t see a conflict because as the Queen’s representative in Canada, I am very concerned about the circumstances that have led to some of the events we have seen,” she said. " I do understand, as an Indigenous person, that there is pain and suffering across our nation.”
She said she could help in the process of coming to terms with the “atrocities of our collective past.”
In a tweet, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole offered his congratulations to Ms. Simon.
“This is an important day for both our country as a whole and particularly Indigenous peoples,” Mr. O’Toole said. “The role of Governor-General is important in unifying our country and bringing Canadians together. "
Also:
CPAC video of the news conference announcing Ms. Simon as Governor General is here.
There’s a biography of Ms. Simon posted here by the Office of the Prime Minister.
And a Globe and Mail primer on the exit of Julie Payette is here.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
AFN NATIONAL CHIEF ELECTION THIS WEEK - First Nations leaders are expected to hold an election for a new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations this week, at a time when discoveries of unmarked burial sites near former residential schools have made the role especially critical.
PLAN TO VACCINATE CANADIANS IN DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS - The federal government, using military aircraft and couriers, has shipped thousands of COVID-19 vaccine doses to 134 of Canada’s diplomatic missions to ensure the mass vaccination of its foreign-based staff and their families in countries where vaccines are scarce.
TRUDEAU/MOE TO COWESSESS FIRST NATION - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is today heading to the Cowessess First Nation, east of Regina, where he and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe will attend a signing ceremony as part of a transfer of control over children in care to the community. In a statement here Chief Cadmus Delorme elaborates on the issue. Cowessess is the site of a former residential school where, last month, ground-penetrating radar detected a potential 751 unmarked graves.
HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROMISED - The federal government is moving forward with a plan to build an all-new high frequency rail line connecting Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra announced the plan to passengers onboard a VIA Rail train travelling from Toronto to Montreal on Monday. From CBC.
RANKIN DISCLOSES IMPAIRED-DRIVING CONVICTION - Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin says he was convicted of drunk driving in 2003 and was cleared of a second drunk-driving charge in 2005. The Premier made the announcement Monday, as speculation increases that an election call is imminent.
NO `CANADIAN INITIATIVE’ IN RELEASE: GARNEAU - Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau says the release of a woman detained in northeastern Syria was not a “Canadian initiative,” but added Ottawa is trying to gather information about Canadians in Kurdish-run camps in the country.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
The Prime Minister announced Mary Simon will be Canada’s new Governor-General. Along with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, the Prime Minister meets with Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme to make an announcement.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on the fate of Apple Daily, the pro-democracy tabloid newspaper in Hong Kong: “And now, a year later, Apple Daily is gone, dozens of pro-democracy activists have been arrested, candidates for “election” must swear fealty to Beijing, local police are learning to goosestep like soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army, and the Chinese ministry that runs Beijing’s secret police – which Hong Kongers once had no reason to fear unless they crossed to the mainland – is building a massive new headquarters on the city’s waterfront. Hong Kong is now one country, one system. Under Mr. Xi, it will never go back to the way it was. The Communist Party of China has decided that its former freedoms are too great a threat. Instead, the world, and the people of Hong Kong, should only expect things to get worse.”
Mary Simon, in a 2012 edition of Policy Options, on how Canada and Inuit get to win-win in the Arctic? " “In an Arctic featuring growing complexity and stakes — for good and for bad — it is in our interests as Inuit to have our act together. It is in the interests of Canada as an Arctic state and its federal and other levels of government to have their acts together. And it is in the interests of Inuit and of all Canadians that the relationship between Inuit and the Crown be a solid, reliable, creative and mutually beneficial one. We need a win/win relationship.”
Kirk LaPointe (Business in Vancouver) on the BC Liberal leadership race and why the winner may not get to take on B.C. NDP Premier John Horgan: “John Horgan is today too tall to topple, but I wouldn’t bet on him running again in 2024. He has shepherded the province through its greatest challenge in our lifetime. It won’t get any more rewarding than this as a leader. Why not leave with as much of a halo as possible? His successor? Attorney General David Eby? Ravi Kahlon, the minister overseeing economic recovery? Perhaps Selina Robinson, the finance minister. The most fascinating possibility is Bowinn Ma, the infrastructure minister doubtlessly heading for a larger role by the election. Their two-term government has cleverly moved into the middle on every issue that does not intrinsically matter to the base.”
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Ian Bailey