La Rochelle, Thursday, May 8, 2008
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I cannot begin to tell you how delighted my husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are to be here with you on what is both a festive and a solemn occasion.
Festive, of course, because the good humour of the people of La Rochelle today is contagious, and we feel rather at home here, having visited your city many times.
But this is also a solemn occasion because with this my official visit to France as governor general of Canada, we are reinforcing the bond of fellowship between our two countries.
We began this morning, on this 8th of May, by taking part in the ceremony commemorating the 63rd anniversary of VE Day, and I was touched that the President of the Republic took the time to accompany us to the Canadian military cemetery at Bény-Reviers, where hundreds of Canadian soldiers who fell on French soil during World War II lay buried.
We stood together to fight tyranny in the name of freedom.
And this year, we are also celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the City of Québec on July 3, 1608, and our shared history that makes us sisters and brothers in language and culture, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Samuel de Champlain has come to embody the efforts of leading figures of the time, beginning with Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts, who organized and financed this adventure in the hope of establishing a permanent French post in Canada; François Gravé, who represented King Henry IV of France; and Anadabijou, the great Amerindian chief of the Montagnais nation.
Champlain, the son and grandson of captains, heard the call of the sea at a young age like so many other sons of Brouage. But this was not his first voyage to the West Indies.
He had already set sail for Spanish America in 1599, where for over two years, he visited the West Indies and New Spain.
And in 1603, he was part of Pierre Dugua's expedition to establish the first French colony on Saint Croix Island in Acadia.
It was an irrepressible desire to see beyond the horizon that opened the maritime routes used by explorers like Samuel de Champlain.
He described how in his youth, he felt the calling to embark upon the adventurous career of navigation.
"It is this art that drew me to love the sea at a very young age and that compelled me to challenge its treacherous waters all of my life."
It was that spirit of adventure, which Samuel de Champlain's life so wonderfully represents, that I wanted to honour in my speech when I was installed as the 27th governor general of Canada.
That same spirit that compelled women and men to cross the ocean, and the Amerindian peoples to share with them the essence of a boundless land, has marked our history with encounters.
I am delighted that the celebrations surrounding this 400th anniversary have given us the opportunity to reflect on how we have all been enriched by those encounters.
Canada is what it is today because it has never stopped believing in the infinite possibilities of such encounters between citizens, who come from every background to take part in the ideal of a pluralist society, where every person has equal rights.
Along those maritime routes, imaginations could soar in ways never before imagined.
With a passion for topography and customs, for flora and fauna, Samuel de Champlain sought out the unknown to enrich the world with his discoveries.
Unable to find a more suitable place or better location, as he put it, he chose the City of Québec as his new home.
This was not the beginning of the French adventure in the Americas but the launching point from which it would blossom and of which we are all so proud.
For all of us, Samuel de Champlain is the embodiment and source of that sense of pride.
His unique adventure changed the course of our history, and all of the signs that bear this out are a precious part of the heritage of both our countries.
Indeed, it is one of the most precious parts for those of us from the Americas.
It is therefore with great pride and emotion that I accept this magnificent gift to the people of Canada from La Rochelle, Rochefort and the Agglomération de Royan Atlantique.
This Grand Livre de Champlain, which you have created based on his notes, engravings and maps, tells of the extraordinary power of encounters and of the equally extraordinary bond of the history we share.
Contemporary artists have breathed new life into the accounts this explorer wrote in his journal, which he illustrated with such finesse.
We can think of no better way to honour the blood and cultural ties that bind us and through which the voices of the world's Francophonie resonate farther and stronger.
The Grand Livre de Champlain is ready to make its own great crossing, along with several vessels about to set sail and follow in the wake of Samuel de Champlain.
My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are very anxious that the Grand Livre be displayed in a place that is equally grand.
One of the earliest fortifications of the French Regime has been restored for this purpose, on the site of the Governor General's Residence at the Citadelle of Québec.
Originally a defence structure, the Cap-aux Diamants Redoubt will now be used to house exhibits, including the Grand Livre de Champlain.
We hope, Your Worships, that you will soon visit the City of Québec to open this exhibit.
The people of Canada thank you wholeheartedly for your gesture of friendship and for so magnificently preserving the ties that mean so much to us.
To those of you here, and to all citizens of La Rochelle, Rochefort and the Agglomération Royan Atlantique, I would like to express the full gratitude of the City of Québec, of Quebec itself, and of Canadians everywhere.
Thank you!
