Montréal, Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Thank you for your warm welcome, and for inviting me to address this important conference today.

Let me begin by welcoming those of you who have travelled great distances to be here in Montréal. In a country known for multiculturalism, this is one of Canada’s most diverse cities as well as one of its most dynamic—and I think that combination is no coincidence.

As governor general, I often speak of diversity as one of our country’s greatest strengths. The story of Canada is one of diverse peoples coming together, seeking opportunity for themselves and their children, and it is with this history in mind that I greet this assembly today.

Canada has been strengthened in countless ways by the presence of peoples from around the world, and this is particularly true of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese-Canadians who call this country home.

Take, for example, the viceregal office to which I am privileged to belong. My predecessor, the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, who has roots among the Toysan and Hakka people of Southern China, as well as in her birthplace of Hong Kong, made a wonderful contribution to the office of governor general and is today one Canada’s most respected voices on citizenship. 

At the provincial level, the current lieutenant governor of Manitoba, the Honourable Philip Lee, is a longtime bridge-builder between Winnipeg’s Chinese-Canadian population and the wider community. And both the Honourable Norman Lim Kwong and the late Honourable David Lam served with distinction as lieutenant governor of Alberta and British Columbia, respectively.

Needless to say, these are just a few of the Chinese-Canadians who have made and continue to make a difference in Canada.

Meanwhile, Canadians continue to make real and lasting contributions to Chinese society. Allow me to share just one recent example: the Canada-China Management Education Program. From the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, this program saw Canadian universities play a major role in helping top Chinese universities to establish management education as a serious discipline in China.

With the support of the Canadian International Development Agency, the program linked 47 Chinese and Canadian universities in a wonderful instance of friendship and co-operation. The result: improved Chinese institutional capacity in management education, the formation of more than 60 MBA programs and the training of hundreds of faculty members in China.

I watched this marvelous initiative with pride and personal involvement during my years at McGill University, an institution that played an important role in the program’s success.

I first travelled to Beijing in 1980 to help with the early planning of the program and then, while I served as president of McGill, it was overseen for a decade-and-a-half by our dean of management, Wally Crowston.

I have come to refer to this kind of exchange as the diplomacy of knowledge, which in essence is about learning and innovating together across borders and disciplines. In the complex, interconnected world of the 21st century, I believe international education is one of the most effective ways to expand our learning and to thrive as individuals and as societies.

Having spent much of my life and career as a student, educator and university administrator, I have seen remarkable things happen when diverse people achieve the right mixture of creativity, communication and co-operation.

I have also seen this as a father. My eldest two daughters both studied in China—Debbie at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and at Hangzhou, and Alex for two years at the Beijing Language Institute. And my fourth daughter, Jenifer, spent eight months at Fudan University in Shanghai on her Queen’s MPA as part of the international element of that program.

They all learned a great deal and made many friends, and today are sharing their appreciation for Chinese language and culture with their loved ones.

Earlier this year, I was delighted to receive an honorary doctorate from Nanjing University, one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning in China. My connection to that school dates back to my tenure as president of the University of Waterloo, when our two institutions jointly established the Sino-Canadian College on the grounds of Nanjing University.

The Sino-Canadian College, I should add, was the result of more than two decades of joint research—particularly in the environmental sciences and sustainable development—between eminent researchers from our two universities working on shared challenges as one team.

The opening of the Sino-Canadian College in Nanjing by the governor of Jiangsu province and the premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, was especially poignant because it was a testimonial to the twinning of Jiangsu and Ontario begun more than a decade earlier. It was once again an example of people-to-people trust leading to concrete, innovative programs. I also remember clearly how students from Nanjing University added so much to the academic and cultural life of Waterloo. To this day, diversity is one of the secrets to the success of that institution. 

I am pleased to note the growing number of exchanges taking place between China and Canada at all educational levels. I truly believe our relationship can only be strengthened by viewing each other through the lens of learning.

Today, Canada and China are becoming more important to one another, and together, we need to adjust our learning and deepen our mutual comprehension. Take language, for example—the key to culture.

In Canada today, more than a million Canadians speak Mandarin, Cantonese or another Chinese language, according to the 2011 census. This is a testament to the depth of our ties and a recipe for greater understanding. As Nelson Mandela observed: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

What I also find encouraging about the latest census, however, is how its methodology has evolved to reflect our growing appreciation for the distinctions among Chinese languages spoken in Canada.

For example, as recently as 1996, the census did not distinguish between the different Chinese languages. In 2001, the category was expanded to include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka and a fourth, general category for all others. In 2006, the classification was expanded again to include four more Chinese languages: Taiwanese, Chaochow, Fukien and Shanghainese.

The trend towards a deepening, more refined understanding of Chinese languages is clear, and it is important, particularly when we consider—as the census authors point out—that the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese is as significant as that between French and Spanish, for example.

My point is not to suggest that all Canadians and all Chinese must learn one another’s languages and dialects, wonderful though that would be. Rather, my aim is to highlight the value of mutual curiosity and learning in our relationship.

To paraphrase Saint-Exupéry in Le Petit Prince, “I am different from you. But because I am different I do not diminish you—I enrich you.”

When Canadians think of Chinese people, and vice versa, we must look beyond that which we seek to achieve—be they economic, academic or cultural goals—to focus on one another as human beings who have so much to offer. I would like to challenge each of you to find new ways to reach out to one another and forge deeper understanding and respect.

Time and again in my life I have seen that the depth and quality of people-to-people relationships determine the extent of every shared success. I have seen it especially through my children. I often say, “All the important things in life I have learned through my children.” This is especially authentic, and personal, when I contemplate the collaborative compact between the citizens of China and of Canada.

Ultimately, our relationship is about people, and that is why I am so pleased to see you gathered here today.

I wish you a wonderful collaboration. 

Thank you.