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December 1, 2008 December 1, 2008, marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. The theme of this year’s campaign is “Lead–Empower–Deliver”. On this day, it is important that we highlight the scientific progress that has been made over the past 20 years. This progress would not have been possible w...

Luncheon Hosted by the President of the Senate of the Parliament Prague, Monday, December 1st, 2008 I would like to thank you, President Sobotka, for this warm welcome. My husband and I are delighted to find ourselves once again in a country that we discovered just over a year ago, when we came to P...

State Dinner Hosted by His Excellency Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, and Mrs. Livia Klausová Prague, Monday, December 1st, 2008 Fortune has certainly smiled upon us, Excellency, to have brought us back so soon to your capital and to your country. My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I...

Projev Její Excelence, Ctihodnosti Michaëlle Jean, Guvernérky Kanady, u príležitosti státní recepce porádanéJeho Excelencí Václavem Klausem,prezidentem Ceské republiky, a paní Livií Klausovou Praha, Ceská republika, Pondelí, 1. prosince 2008 Srovnejte prosím se skutecne predneseným projevem Štestena...

Art Matters Forum on Political Art Prague, Tuesday, December 2, 2008 My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are thrilled to join you this evening in the first ever Art Matters forum in the Czech Republic. I must admit that I feel very much at home here at the Dox Centre for Contemporary Art. Its aim ...

Youth Dialogue on Civic Engagement Prague, Tuesday, December 2, 2008 How are you? Let me begin by saying that I am thrilled to be with you this morning. I could think of no better way of opening our dialogue than by watching a live performance of the one and only, Gipsy.cz. Please give them another ...

December 5, 2008 OTTAWA—The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is a sad reminder of the massacre of 14 young women at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal, on December 6, 1989. Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones, who will forever mourn this tragic loss. As...

December 5, 2008 OTTAWA—My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I were deeply saddened to hear of the tragic incident in Afghanistan that claimed the lives of three soldiers, Warrant Officer Robert John Wilson, Corporal Mark Robert McLaren and Private Demetrios Diplaros. All soldiers were from the 1st B...

Ottawa, Tuesday, December 9, 2008 Welcome to this edition of Art Matters. These discussion forums provide us with an opportunity for encounter, exchange, reflection and dialogue on the arts and culture in the lead-up to the presentation of the Governor General’s Awards—for the performing arts, the v...

Art Matters Forum held in conjunction with the2008 Governor General’s Literary Awards Ottawa, Tuesday, December 9, 2008 This is the third time we have organized an Art Matters forum in conjunction with the Governor General’s Literary Awards, but it is the first time we have held it in public. Over t...

Presentation of the Governor General’s Literary Awards Rideau Hall, Wednesday, December 10, 2008 Reading is contagious. It is a pleasure that is passed on, a pleasure that spreads, that is shared. From one generation to the next, from one mind to the next, beyond space, beyond time. It is a pleasure...

Order of Canada Investiture Ceremony Rideau Hall, Friday, December 12, 2008 We have come here this morning to honour women and men who have left their mark on this country. Those of you receiving our country’s highest honour today have always endeavoured to improve yourselves, to reinvent yourselves...

December 14, 2008 OTTAWA—Today we are mourning the deaths of three soldiers, after a loss that saddened us deeply only a few days ago. In addition, one of their colleagues was severely wounded by the explosion of an IED while they were patrolling in the reconstruction zone close to the city of Kanda...

Presentation of the 2008 Governor General’s Literary Awards Rideau Hall, Wednesday, December 10, 2008 It has become something of a tradition, for the Governor General and myself, to take advantage of the fact that the recipients of the various Governor General’s Awards have gathered in one place, by...

New Year Message Recorded at Rideau Hall, Wednesday, December 17, 2008 Dear friends, As a new year dawns, we are filled with a renewed sense of hope. The days, weeks and months ahead may be whatever we imagine them to be and will be whatever we make of them. But let us be realistic: the challenges a...

December 10, 2008, marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which opens with the assertion that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world...

Message on the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens Recorded at Rideau Hall, Thursday, December 18, 2008 On a cold February night in 1968, my family and I first set foot in Thetford Mines, Quebec, after having left our island home of Haiti. I could see that the streets were de...

December 29, 2008 As a new year dawns, we are filled with a renewed sense of hope. The days, weeks and months ahead may be whatever we imagine them to be and will be whatever we make of them. But let us be realistic: the challenges are considerable and have caused a great deal of anxiety. This past ...

December 27, 2008 OTTAWA—The year is drawing to a close on a sad note. We have just learned that another of our soldiers, Private Michael Bruce Freeman, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, and that three of his comrades were injured. Our thoughts turn to the parents, family ...

December 28, 2008 OTTAWA— Still reeling from the shock of yesterday’s announcement, we have received further heart-wrenching, painful news today, again from Afghanistan. It was with great sorrow that we learned that Warrant Officer Gaétan Roberge, from the 2nd Battalion, The Irish Regiment of Canada...