Gov. Gen. Mary Simon: All Canadians must work towards reconciliation

Canadians still have much work to do to right historic wrongs, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon said as the country commemorated the fourth annual Truth and Reconciliation Day. 

"Reconciliation is a shared pursuit," Simon said. "We all have a responsibility to take steps, collectively, to right the historic wrongs that continue to impact the present."

On Monday Simon honoured residential school survivors at several events in Ottawa and spoke on CBC's Ottawa Morning to describe the harmful effects of the residential school system on herself and her community. 

Simon made history as the first Indigenous Governor General when she was appointed in 2021. 

She grew up in the Inuit community of Kangiqsualujjuaq in northern Quebec before working as a broadcaster, civil servant and diplomat.

That career path was remarkable, given the limited opportunities afforded to her.

"We only went to school up to grade six in our community," Simon said. "After that, all our friends went to residential school."

Even though the Indian Act wasn't supposed to apply to Inuit, she said, "the agent of the time applied it to our family so we weren't eligible to go to school."

While her peers were taken away, Simon remained at home, educated through correspondence courses taught by her father.

"I was very fortunate to be able to stay home and stay connected to my close knit-family," Simon said, saying this also preserved her connection to her culture and language. 

In contrast, she said she witnessed the loneliness of those families in her community whose children were sent away to residential schools. 

Reconciliation is a lifelong journey

"We must remember what happened, and we must never forget," she said, adding that while it's vital to remember the past, there is need for hope for the future.

Simon describes reconciliation as a "lifelong journey" that aims to bring victims and survivors of the residential school system "to a place where they can also live a healthy lifestyle."

It is hard for people who have been harmed to forgive, she said. "I think a lot of Indigenous peoples have forgiven and want to move on."

Canada has a responsibility to work with Indigenous people, she said, to "create a country that has equality [for] all its peoples, especially the first peoples of this country."

Ottawa Morning14:18Canada's first Indigenous Governor General reflects on three years in position on Truth and Reconciliation Day.

Three years after she was appointed as Canada's first Indigenous Governor General Mary Simon reflects on Canada's progress on Truth and Reconciliation Day.