Toronto, Thursday, December 2, 2010
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I would like to thank Premier McGuinty for inviting Sharon and me to this wonderful event.
Since my installation, I have been inviting Canadians to join me in imagining our country as it could be. We strive for a smart and caring nation where all Canadians can succeed, contribute and develop their talents to their fullest potential. We want to be a nation that increases and applies the knowledge of its citizens to improve the condition of all—at home and around the world.
To achieve this vision, I have set out three pillars; supporting families and children; reinforcing learning and innovation; and encouraging philanthropy and volunteerism.
As many of you probably know, I have five daughters and seven grandchildren. Sharon and I call them our miracles. Supporting families and children is very important to us.
We all know that Canada’s early settlers learned to care for, and collaborate and share with, their neighbours—to build barns and villages in the hope of a better life for their children. They understood the essence of family building and fostered the collaboration to affect it.
Canada is known for its diversity. Ontario is also known for its diverse population.
Sharon and I have started meeting families from all across the country, and listening to their stories. And we are looking forward to meeting more and more Canadians families, from all walks of life and all backgrounds, and to hearing even more stories.
In Ontario, you have incredible programs for children and families because you believe that children and families are our future.
As many of you know, I have spent most of my career in the university world. As an educator and administrator, I had the privilege of spending much of my life around students, and I often felt that they were the ones who were teaching me.
St. Augustine once wrote: “If you must judge the quality of a society, look to see what it cherishes.” I say: let us cherish our teachers.
The smart and caring Canada that we envision will measure itself in terms of how well it develops the talents of its people—and how it uses their knowledge to improve the human condition.
This afternoon I had the privilege of addressing the Ontario Legislature. I was able to share my views on learning. I spoke about learning and innovation.
Knowledge provides every child every opportunity to grow intellectually, to the best of their ability.
Canada must build a nation that learns, but it must also foster a nation that cares, a nation that looks outward, beyond its borders, to the wider world.
But it all begins with learning. In our globalized world, leadership comes from the strength of our ideas and the pace of our innovation.
Knowledge is the foundation on which a society is built and innovation is the tool we use to build and improve it. At its most basic level, innovation is about crafting a new idea to do things better. It’s about seeing things differently, imagining the as-yet unseen or unachieved.
We must ask ourselves, can we have equality of opportunity and excellence too? We must see that these are not competing concepts, but collaborating ones that reinforce each other.
Samuel de Champlain, a governor in all but name, dreamed of a new order based on shared respect for differing histories, cultures, languages and faiths. I believe his vision is just as relevant today as it was 400 years ago.
In 2017, Canada will mark its 150th anniversary. We want to be a smart and caring nation—a society that innovates, embraces its talent and uses the knowledge of each of its citizens.
Let me end with a quote by George Bernard Shaw:
“Some people see things as they are and wonder why.
We dream of things that ought to be and ask why not.”
Thank you.
