An Inuk leader who has served as a Canadian diplomat was named the country’s first Indigenous representative of the crown on Tuesday – an announcement that comes in the wake of a scandal over the nation’s long mistreatment of indigenous people.
In naming the next governor general, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said ’it is only by building bridges” can the people of Canada move forward together.
“Mary Simon has done that throughout her life,” Trudeau said speaking at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.
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Mary Simon, the new Governor General of Canada in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Photo: Reuters[/caption]
“I know she will help continue paving that path ahead. And we will all be stronger for it. Today after 154 years, our country takes a historic step. I cannot think of a better person to meet the moment.″
He said Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has approved the appointment of her representative in Canada.
The appointment follows the revelation that hundreds of unmarked graves of children have been found on the grounds of former residential schools across Canada – institutions to which Indigenous children were forcibly relocated for generations.
Simon was born in Kangiqsualujjuaq, in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec, and is the former president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national advocacy organisation.
SOURCE: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
