ideau Hall, Friday, February 5, 2010
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I am pleased to welcome you to Rideau Hall for the unveiling of a commemorative stamp in honour of the dearly loved and greatly missed Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, 25th Governor General of Canada.
Diana, Dominic, Geneviève and Sarah, welcome to this place that your family also called home.
I am not sure what my predecessor would have thought, had he known that his face would one day grace a stamp in circulation across Canada and beyond its borders.
He was a very humble man, I am often told by those who knew him here, in his place of residence and work from 1995 to 1999.
The magnificent portrait of Roméo LeBlanc by portrait artist Christan Nicholson, on which the Canada Post Corporation based the design of this commemorative stamp, masterfully captures Roméo LeBlanc the "ordinary man," who made a point of going out and meeting his fellow citizens and trying to understand their realities.
Roméo LeBlanc used to tell of the time when he had gone back to his hometown of Memramcook after being sworn in as Governor General.
He would explain how the aides-de-camp, who accompany us in all our travels, had stressed to the master of ceremonies the need to use the title "Excellency" and respect certain rules of protocol.
Well, it seems that the master of ceremonies, after reading his prepared notes and duly following the rules, had ended with, "And now, here's Roméo!"
As you may have guessed, Roméo LeBlanc was delighted!
It came as no surprise that he chose to end his days and be laid to rest in that small Acadian village in New Brunswick, among his own people—the people who knew and loved him before he became a public figure, first as a journalist and foreign correspondent and then as a member of Parliament, a minister, a senator and, finally, the Governor General of Canada.
What I learned from Roméo LeBlanc is that formality must never be allowed to take precedence over a warm reception.
In this spirit, my friends, I invite you to join me in celebrating the memory of this remarkable man, known for his generosity and serenity, with the release of this special stamp by the Canada Post Corporation.
My hope is that this stamp will help preserve the memory of Roméo LeBlanc, a great Canadian, proud Acadian, and staunch defender of the Francophonie, at home and abroad, for many generations to come.
Thank you.
