Rideau Hall, Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Excellency, distinguished members of the Tanzanian delegation, it is an honour and a great pleasure for my wife, Sharon, and me to welcome you to Rideau Hall.

This building and these grounds have been the home and workplace of every governor general since 1867, the year of Canada’s birth. And it is here that Canadians have gathered to share ideas and dreams for our country, and to discuss our role in the world.

For this reason, Rideau Hall is also known as Canada’s home, and I sincerely hope that your stay here, and in our country, will be a memorable and productive one.      

Since the time of Tanzania’s independence, warm and friendly relations have existed between our two countries. Canadians have watched your growing success in Eastern Africa and on the international stage with interest, and we are privileged to consider ourselves partners in a number of common causes.

And indeed, Tanzania and Canada have much in common. Our nations are founded upon a core set of democratic values, including the freedoms of expression, association and assembly. We have strived to build tolerant, inclusive societies, and we both prefer consensus over conflict. The recent launch of a transparent, inclusive and participatory process for the review of the Tanzanian Constitution is salient evidence of your personal commitment to these values.

And not least, both of our countries place great importance on good governance and international co-operation—the spirit of which brings us together today.

This shared vision forms the basis of our friendship, which has grown and developed in many wonderful ways during the past half century.

In fact, it was just over 50 years ago, in 1961, that Professor Cranford Pratt—a Canadian from Carleton University here in Ottawa—was named the first principal of the University College of Dar es Salaam—Your Excellency’s alma mater. I can think of few partnerships more deserving of celebration than an international exchange centred upon learning, and I like to think that this early experience set the tone for our relations in the decades that followed.

Certainly, it was the first of many academic exchanges between students and professors from our two countries. Hundreds of Tanzanians have studied in Canada, including Mr. Ludovick S.L. Utuoh, Tanzania’s Comptroller and Auditor General and a graduate of Algonquin College. And more recently, Ms. Rose Shayo served as a visiting scholar at Carleton’s Institute of African Studies.

Having spent most of my life and career in a university setting prior to becoming governor general, I know the power and importance of learning, both at home and abroad. For this reason, I am delighted to hear of the remarkable progress Tanzania has made in the field of education. In particular, your record in raising primary and secondary school enrolment is truly outstanding, and I want to congratulate you on your achievements.

Tanzanians and Canadians also find common ground in our shared belief in the importance of maternal and child health and well-being. As the parents of five wonderful daughters and the grandparents of nine grandchildren, Sharon and I are acutely aware of how important it is for society to provide the basic conditions in which healthy children can thrive. All Canadians recognize this need, and that is why we are so pleased to work with you in support of families and children in Tanzania.

Parallel to our work on behalf of mothers and children, our peoples are working to strengthen our respective economies through the fair exchange of expertise and opportunity. As Your Excellency is aware from previous trips to Canada, our two countries are distinguished by an exceptional wealth of natural resources. I sincerely hope that we can work together to advance our commercial partnership, while ensuring the socially and environmentally responsible use of resources.

I would also like to say a few words about Tanzania’s commitment to building a more just, peaceful and better-governed Africa.

Here again you are a leader. Within Tanzania, you have worked to strengthen ethics and to fight corruption, and you are a constructive partner in the African Union and in United Nations operations. You have helped to encourage peace, democracy and justice in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan, for which the world is grateful. Your country donated grain to Somalia during the famine there last year.

Your actions in relation to these crises remind us that the true measure of a nation’s greatness lies in its ability and willingness to help others. For this and many more reasons, you are very welcome in Canada.

In closing, let me say again how much Canada and Canadians value the bond of friendship that has been established between our two countries over the last fifty years. Our relationship is forged in the shared values of democracy, tolerance and human rights, and together we are working to improve the lives of our citizens and to make the world a better place.

Ladies and gentlemen: To Canada, to Tanzania, and to the friendly and growing understanding and friendship that we share, please raise your glass with me. To friendship!