Governor General Mary Simon begins her tour of Nunavik

(Kuujjuaq) Governor General Mary Simon describes herself as someone who rarely gets carried away, but this week is a little different.

M^me Simon, born in 1947 in Kangiqsualujjuaq, began her tour on Monday in this region of Nunavik, in northern Quebec.

“Yesterday I was thinking about my childhood, especially my early teens, when we were at camp on the George River. We came here and we were so excited that we almost cried out, she told an audience of Inuit leaders Monday morning. I felt like this yesterday. »

She’s not the only one. The citizens of Kuujjuaq had been waiting impatiently for days for the arrival of Mary Simon, including her childhood best friend and sister-in-law, Louisa Berthe May.

“I was like, I wonder if I can hug her? “said Mr.^me May. “And then she came over and kissed me, and wow! It was something. The two women kissed in front of Kuujjuaq City Hall on Monday, where Ms.^me Simon in Nunavik has officially begun.

Before sitting down with City Council, the Governor General spent time with the excited crowd gathered outside on a beautiful spring day that was unusually warm for this region. There were hugs and selfies, and several people shouted “Welcome home, Mary”, far from the usual viceroyal proprieties.

Here in Nunavik, the woman who holds the highest office in Canada is known simply by her first name. Everyone seems to know “Mary” and many call her their friend. Local Inuit leaders were even amused that there was no Inuktitut translation for his title “your Excellency”.

“She is my role model,” said Jennifer Watkins, a resident of Kuujjuaq. Mary has stood up for the Inuit all our lives, so for her, becoming Her Excellency, Governor General of Canada, was well deserved. And that means a lot to Inuit across the Arctic. »

Mary Simon is back home in Nunavik for the first time since becoming Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General in July 2021.

“No movement” in Quebec

At the Makivik Corporation, which represents the Inuit of northern Quebec, Ms.^me Simon also took part in a discussion on the progress of self-government for this first people, an area in which she was a leader before her appointment last summer.

Makivik President Pita Aatami said in his opening remarks that the appointment of Mr.^me Simon had given the region and the Inuit a visibility they would never have had. But he also pointed out that negotiations with the Quebec government have stalled.

“At the moment, there is really no movement,” said Mr. Aatami. Canada is in on it and things are happening, but Quebec has talked about bringing in an observer for the self-determination process […] I said that we don’t need an observer: we need a negotiator who will work with us. »

M^me Simon told the group about her recent meeting with Premier Francois Legault in Quebec where, she said, he pledged to appoint an Inuit negotiator. Her promise “has been recorded”, she assured.

The Governor General also said that she had had good discussions with Mr. Legault. “I did my best to speak French, I’m not quite there yet, but he told the media that I needed to improve my French,” she said with a laugh.

M^me Simon and her husband, Whit Fraser, were due to end Monday with a town hall meeting with students from a local school and a visit to the elders’ home.