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January 22, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Intense and deeply moving. During our brief visit to the country, to the south, the north and the capital city, we saw for ourselves the magnitude of the disaster brought on by four cyclones that pounded the island and the region last October: the hu...

February 5, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean I have always thought that this time of reflection—every February—on the struggle of Blacks to gain their emancipation had no value unless viewed through the lens of the history of humanity itself, giving it its full universal dimension. I believe th...

April 22, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Ukraine and Norway. Two countries I am longing to go on a State visit because of our long-standing relationships and everything we have in common today. There are over one million Canadians of Ukrainian origin and they can trace their first roots here ...

May 2, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean I am back from Ukraine and Norway, still replete with the memories of intense, exciting and often moving places, meetings and forums. Everywhere we went, we were welcomed in friendship, focusing on the importance of not only celebrating and reinforcing ou...

May 2, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean I am back from Ukraine and Norway, still replete with the memories of intense, exciting and often moving places, meetings and forums. Everywhere we went, we were welcomed in friendship, focusing on the importance of not only celebrating and reinforcing ou...

May 25, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean From May 25 to June 1, I will be back on the road, this time headed to Canada’s Far North. We will be setting off on an extensive journey that will take us to nine communities in Nunavut and Nunavik. My husband, Jean Daniel Lafond, and our daughter, Mari...

June 9, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Although we often think of this vast part of the country as an endless stretch of snow and ice, the diversity of its landscapes is staggering: fjords, canyons, islands on a frozen ocean covered in translucent ice revealing waters of infinite shades of bl...

October 16, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean On October 20, at the request of the Prime Minister of Canada, we will continue where we left off in Slovenia, in December 2008, when our official visit had to be cut short because of the political situation here at home. You will no doubt remember t...

December 6, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean We belong to the Americas. Living at its extreme north, we are not always able to fully measure our cultural, historical, geographic and economic membership to this continent or the contribution we make to its rich diversity. The Latin south is the e...

June 30, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean This year, we are celebrating Canada’s 142nd birthday. I would like to take this festive opportunity to highlight the extraordinary contribution that young Canadians are making to the vitality of our country. In every city and every community, from Monc...

November 20, 2009 by His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond For this 43rd edition of Art Matters, we will be exploring the identity of our literature and, by extension, Canadian identity. What is it that distinguishes our English literature from that written in the United States or Britain? What is it th...

Launch of the Poppy Campaign Rideau Hall, Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Not a day goes by without the news reminding us of how lucky we are to live in freedom, while so many people around the world are affected by barbarism and misery. Defending this freedom against that which may restrict it demands a ...

Cultural evening organized a few days before leaving forthe Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Croatia andthe Hellenic Republic Rideau Hall, Tuesday, October 13, 2009 In a few days, a delegation and I will be leaving to visit three countries in southeast Europe, a region of world also known as th...

Indian Residential Schools Truth and ReconciliationCommission “Witnessing the Future” Ceremony Rideau Hall, Thursday, October 15, 2009 What we are about to experience together, right here, in this room where we hold every official ceremony, is of paramount importance. I am pleased that we have gathe...

Reception in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of InuitPrintmaking at Cape Dorset Rideau Hall, Friday, October 16, 2009 How wonderful to be able to offer you the same kind of hospitality that you extended to us when we visited Cape Dorset in April 2006 during my first official visit to Nunavut. As...

Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, on the occasion of Citizenship Week October 19, 2009 OTTAWA — People all around the world see Canada as a country where anything is possible, a country where justice and harmony reign and everyone can realiz...

Formal Dinner Hosted by His Excellency Dr. Danilo Türk, President of the Republic of Slovenia Brdo Castle, Slovenia, Wednesday, October 21, 2009 There is talk in Canada of a Slovenian miracle. By miracle, people mean the extraordinary path that Slovenia has followed since it declared independence on...

Welcoming Ceremony by the Slovenian Military Ljubljana, Slovenia, Thursday, October 22, 2009 I wanted to come here to meet with you during my official visit to Slovenia as governor general and commander-in-chief of Canada. In 2006, some of you were awarded the General Campaign Star in recognition of...

Luncheon offered by the Ambassador of Canada to Slovenia and Discussion on the Role Women Play in Art, Culture and Civil Society Ljubljana, Slovenia, Thursday, October 22, 2009 I would like to thank Canada’s ambassador to Slovenia, Pierre Guimond, for giving us this opportunity to discuss the role t...

State Dinner Hosted by His Excellency Mr. Stjepan Mesic,President of the Republic of Croatia Zagreb, Croatia, Friday, October 23, 2009 For me and the Canadian delegation accompanying me, this State visit—which will take us from Zagreb to Vukovar, stopping in Dubrovnik and Split along the way—is an o...