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I look at Canada through the eyes of someone who has known it both up close and from afar, always with admiration.

Let us continue to build bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, strengthening Canada’s defence—so that together, we may meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Tonight, we celebrate something that has been at the heart of much of the work I have done throughout my own professional life. Journalists, lawyers, historians —with different tools, different objectives, different options and constraints— we share the same unwavering dedication to the truth.

The union of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard within one department, in shared service to the country, is an important milestone in the history of civilian and military co-operation in Canada.

We are a country of seasons. Seasons of joy and sadness. Graduation season, wedding season, moving season, seasons for every rite of passage.

Canada values the many ways our peoples, institutions and communities work together, looking out for each other in a spirit of respect and collaboration.

Your contributions are not just individual efforts. Together, they bring about positive change in our country and strengthen its standing in the world.

For a century, The Royal Canadian Legion has supported our veterans during and beyond their years of service, while keeping their stories alive and paying tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

This week, we celebrate the ideas and people shaping Canada’s future.

Every day, Indigenous communities mourn the loss of sisters, mothers, loved ones and children who have gone missing—or whose lives have been violently cut short or forever changed.

Across this country, millions of people give their time, skills and compassion to help others—and today, we celebrate you.

I am filled with hope as I see our voices continue to be heard through this forum and through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.