Saguenay (Jonquière), Monday, June 22, 2009
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My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, our daughter Marie-Éden, and I are delighted to be here with you today.
We have just had two extraordinary days.
We have found here what we love so much about Quebec, this place where we have put down our roots, this unique place in North America to which we are deeply attached: the hospitality, the warmth, the joie de vivre.
It was with tremendous pride and emotion that I celebrated National Aboriginal Day yesterday with the Ilnu of Mashteuiatsh, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean’s Aboriginal people.
It was with joy that I read a story this morning to the children who had gathered at the Bibliothèque de Roberval, a place of culture, knowledge, encounter and creation.
It was with interest that I followed the discussion that took place at the Pulperie de Chicoutimi on the vitality of your region and the way in which young people are getting involved.
And finally, it is with great happiness that I find myself here with you, the people of Jonquière and its surrounding communities, in this place, the Patro, whose mission is to break down the walls of indifference that we sometimes put up between us, those countless solitudes that isolate us from one another at a time when we need greater solidarity to face the challenges ahead.
Since my installation as governor general, I have tried to give a voice to those seldom heard, those who have been marginalized, excluded, the voiceless, as my motto, Briser les solitudes, or breaking down solitudes, attests. This motto reflects the society I hope we can build for future generations.
In every community in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, women, men and youth are working tirelessly to create an environment where every individual can contribute to our united strength.
A place where living together in harmony speaks louder than the exclusion that pushes so many into silence and despair.
It is widely known that you, known affectionately as “bleuets,” are a tightly knit community, yet there is no doubt that anyone who adopts your region becomes a member of the family, a thread added to the social fabric, enriching it with its own unique colour.
The spirit of helping one another, the spirit of community in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean is a way of doing things, of thinking, of being and of seeing the world.
As you remind us and as the stakeholders and volunteers of the Patro whom I have met remind us, we have a responsibility to improve the lives of those around us and of the world at large.
Your greatest strength comes from every action you take to build a more just and more human world.
You are a model of civic engagement, and I intend to tell others all about you, wherever my travels across this vast country of ours may take me.
Thank you so much for welcoming us–me, my husband and our daughter–with such enthusiasm, sincerity and kindness.
We will not soon forget our visit to the region of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean!
