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“I was very sad to learn of the violent earthquake that struck Afghanistan, Pakistan and India this weekend. The natural disaster has devastated regions of these three countries and brutally taken the lives of untold numbers of children, women and men, while many others have lost their loved ones an...

Winnipeg, Tuesday, October 18, 2005 I am delighted that my first official trip as governor general brings me here to Manitoba. My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond is also pleased to be here. A few earlier trips had already let me observe the remarkable drive of Manitoba residents. To find myself here agai...

Winnipeg, Tuesday, October 18, 2005 My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I sincerely thank Premier Gary Doer and his wife, Ginny Devine, as well as members of the Government of Manitoba, for hosting this dinner in our honour. I am touched by the welcome given to me by you and your fellow Manitobans. Ea...

Winnipeg, Wednesday, October 19, 2005 It's often said that Winnipeg is Canada's coldest provincial capital. Last week, I learned that snow had already fallen here while the temperature was still almost 30 degrees in Ottawa. And yesterday, people came to greet me in spite of the rain. What the weathe...

Winnipeg, Thursday, October 20, 2005 I am so pleased that you are the first students I am meeting as governor general of Canada because the adventure in which you are participating at this school is an example for many. My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, a former professor, is also delighted to be here...

Winnipeg, Thursday, October 20, 2005 My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I are pleased to be with you at this memorable moment when you officially join Canada's big family. We know how important for you is the experience you are going through today. It marks a culminating point in your own lives. As I...

Rideau Hall, Tuesday, October 25, 2005 Too often we forget that the freedom we enjoy in Canada is not shared by most people in our world. Those who came before us paid a high price for our freedom. Remembrance Day is especially for thinking about the incredible good fortune we have to live in a coun...

Ottawa, Wednesday, October 26, 2005 The view that history offers us is always incomplete, sometimes even very imperfect. From time to time we must return and cast new light on that picture. With the Aboriginal Spiritual Journey to the battlefields of the First and Second World Wars, at last we have ...

France, Sunday, October 30, 2005 We are gathered here on soil hallowed by those who paid the supreme sacrifice, offering their lives so that others might regain freedom. My heart aches when I think that under these stones lie the remains of Canadian soldiers, all so very young, many still in their t...

France, Sunday, October 30, 2005 The Inuksuk, in Inuit culture, is a guide. This stone figure bears lasting witness that humans have passed through a place. It is a signpost in space, sometimes marking a spot that summons us to reverence and contemplation. Peter Irniq who built this Inuksuk, and who...