The Citadelle, Sunday, October 21, 2012

I am delighted to welcome you to the Citadelle, one of the jewels of Canadian history in Québec.

This building has been an official residence of the governor general since our country’s Confederation in 1867, and the history of this city goes back four centuries to the time of Samuel de Champlain—Canada’s first governor in all but name.

As heads of delegation for your respective countries, you may be interested to know that one of Canada’s earliest and most significant acts of diplomacy took place not far from here in Tadoussac, on the shores of the St. Lawrence River.

It was in Tadoussac in the spring of 1603 that Champlain and his French companions first met with members of the Montagnais, Algonquin and Etchemin First Nations, who had gathered for a large regional assembly, known as the Great Tabagie.

This first encounter came about entirely by chance, but Champlain and the Aboriginal leaders seized the opportunity to meet and to establish good relations for mutual benefit.

As Pulitzer Prize winning historian David Fischer has written, this moment marked the beginning of an important alliance.

“[The European and First Nation leaders] treated each other with dignity, forbearance and respect. They began to build an atmosphere of trust that was fundamental to relations between Europeans and Indians. They also kept it growing. When trust grew strong, many things were possible.”

As parliamentarians, you know that many things are possible when trust is strong, so it is with a great sense of hope and optimism that I greet you today.

I am looking forward to opening the 127th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union later this evening, and Canada is proud to be your host.

As democratic citizens from around the world, our respective parliaments are the highest expression of our values. These are exciting and challenging times for parliamentarians, and in the coming days, you will discuss important questions of citizenship, identity, language and diversity in a globalized world.

Thank you for being here for this gathering. I wish you an informative and productive assembly.