Brasilia, Wednesday, July 11, 2007

My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, my daughter, Marie-Éden, and I have been touched by the reception Brazilians have given us since our arrival.

We left for Brazil as the U20 World Cup was taking place in Canada. Back home, soccer fever has gripped the nation.

Brazil played its first matches in Montreal, Quebec, a city I called home for many years. Nearly 940,000 spectators fought for tickets in the six Canadians cities holding the 52 World Cup matches.

Kofi Annan once said that sport is a universal language. And our young people will be speaking this universal language over the next few days in Rio, where the XV Pan American Games will take place.

What an amazing sight that will be; young people from all over the Americas meeting in solidarity! I want to thank our Brazilian friends for welcoming us to their country.

I think the time has come for us to focus more than ever on openness, dialogue and alliances to build on our ties across all borders.

That is the purpose of my official visit to Brazil as Governor General of Canada, which brought me to Salvador, São Paulo, and here, Brasilia, and will end in Rio de Janeiro.

This is not my first visit to Brazil.

I came here in 1992 for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. I was here as a journalist with Canada’s public television network, and I passionately followed the commitment of those fighting to protect all forms of life.

But my having been here before does not explain why so many things in Brazil seem very familiar to me.

It might be because I was born in Haiti, because I am a child of the South and of the sun. Because I have found in Brazil a rhythm, a radiance, a way of life that reminds me of my childhood.

It might also be the memory—buried deep inside—of the traditions that my ancestors from Africa tried to perpetuate here and that are now an integral part of Brazil’s collective identity.

Or it might be the echo of the bossa novas of Antônio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, and Gilberto Gil, which stir my soul and warm my winters.

I think it might be all the solidarities that exist between our two countries.

Brazil and Canada both have a wealth of young people and a vast diversity of cultures.

At both ends of the Americas, we are enormous, generous countries with magnificent fauna and flora.

Moreover, our countries share fundamental values. The preservation of the world’s biodiversity is one. Helping populations in need is another.

In this respect, I am thrilled with our collective efforts, along with nine other countries from Central and South America, to help the people of Haiti to escape the devastating cycle of misery and violence.

Respecting fundamental human rights and dignity, education, health, and fighting poverty are also areas in which we are involved and to which we apply the same conviction and concern for the greater good.

We have the same desire: to provide the women, men and children of our countries—and the entire world—every possible opportunity to grow and prosper.

Let us join forces and work side by side for the greater good and to provide people with a better future.

Today we are reinforcing the bonds of solidarity and friendship that link Canada and Brazil. May this trip strengthen our relationship.

Thank you very much for the unforgettable welcome you have shown us.

And thank you to everyone, near and far, who helped make this State visit to Brazil such a success.

Tonight is also my last night with the delegates from Canada who travelled with me from Salvador to Brasilia, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them from the bottom of my heart for their contribution to the visit.

I sincerely hope that the meetings they have had throughout this trip will lead to productive collaborations with their Brazilian partners.