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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 ...

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...

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...

Rideau Hall, Thursday, November 6, 2008 It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this breakfast, which we organized as part of the Workplace Charitable Campaign. It warms our hearts to see so many of you here. I say “we” because this breakfast is a tradition that I am happy to continue by openin...

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...

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...

Declaration on the Occasion of the Inauguration of the 44thPresident of the United States of America, Mr. Barack Obama Rideau Hall, Tuesday, January 20, 2009 On March 21, 2007, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in this very place, at Rideau Hall, ...

Reception at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti Port-au-Prince, Friday, January 16, 2009 My husband Jean-Daniel and I are delighted to be back in Haiti. The country where I was born. The country where our daughter was born. The country that Jean-Daniel fell in love with, where he found inspiration as a f...

Presentation of Credentials (India,Portugal, Uruguay, Yemen) Rideau Hall, Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Excellencies, I am delighted to welcome you, your families and your delegations to Rideau Hall. As a new year dawns, we begin to look to the future. I recently returned from Haiti, where an already ...

Presentation of the Public Service of Canada Outstanding Achievement Award Rideau Hall, Friday, January 23, 2009 I am delighted to welcome you to Rideau Hall to pay tribute to three people—a woman and two men—who embody excellence within the Public Service of Canada, and because one woman is equal t...

Reception for the Diplomatic Corps Rideau Hall, Thursday, January 22, 2009 Welcome to Rideau Hall. I am delighted to welcome you at the start of a new year. We saw 2008 come to a close in the midst of crisis. An economic crisis, a food crisis, humanitarian crises brought about by natural disasters, ...

YMCA Fellowship of Honour Ceremony Ottawa, Tuesday, January 27, 2009 I am delighted to be here with you today. Thank you for such a warm welcome. We have come here to pay tribute to eight exceptional people for whom civic engagement can be summed up in four letters: YMCA. Four letters. Four letters ...

The Citadelle, Sunday, October 19, 2008 I have just spoken with the Secretary General of La Francophonie, President Abdou Diouf, who is at this moment confined to bed, a result of the fatigue and stress of the past few days, he said. He had been looking forward to hearing and receiving in person the...

Rideau Hall, Monday, September 15, 2008 It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Rideau Hall, particularly since Canada, as you know, is in the midst of exercising one of the fundamentals of democracy. The election campaign is in full swing. You will have a front‑row seat for debates on issues t...

“Multicultural Dialogue” Conference on the Integrationof Minorities in the Urban Centres Prague, Tuesday, December 2, 2008 My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are delighted to join you this morning as you reflect on the challenges posed by diversity in the Czech Republic. Many of the issues you ar...

City of Québec, Monday, August 11, 2008 Let me begin by saying a big thank you to all of you. Thank you to Peace Child International. Thank you to ReGeneration 2008. And thank you to you, the youth, for presenting me with this award, which is a great honour to me. Truly. I was born in a country in w...