Hon. Percy E. Downe: Honourable senators, I want to congratulate Prime Minister Trudeau for appointing Mary May Simon as Governor General, notwithstanding the criticism he knew he would be facing.

Prime Minister Trudeau recognized that, as we all travel the road of understanding, it was time to seize the opportunity and appoint a Canadian of Indigenous heritage as Governor General. Mary May Simon is not just any Canadian but someone who is highly qualified, a leader of her community for decades, a former Canadian ambassador to Denmark, a recognized expert on Arctic issues — the list of her accomplishments goes on and on.

As to the language issue, I think we have to step back and ask ourselves if the policy of our two official languages is a carryover from our colonial past. Prior to francophones or anglophones arriving in this part of North America, there were many Indigenous languages already spoken here.

Colleagues, is it not better to reflect on the true history of Canada and recognize that we may have many Indigenous languages as founding languages? Can the Senate play a major role and also seize this historic opportunity of the first Indigenous Governor General and show leadership by giving our current Language Committee the official mandate and special emphasis on how we can protect these numerous Indigenous languages? Maybe there could be a renamed Senate committee that is focused on founding and official languages.

Colleagues, let us embrace the new Canada. Let us embrace the future rather than resisting change and fighting for the status quo.

As an English-speaking Canadian, I would not object to a francophone who spoke an Indigenous language and who promised to learn English being appointed to a senior position. Colleagues, that is the price we pay to help correct historical wrongs.

We owe it to the Indigenous community to embrace the new Canada we are building together. The old Canada thinking in this bill is partly the result of the distorted history we all studied when we were in school and the massive gaps in our knowledge of the Indigenous community, their customs and their society.

As I personally educate myself on the true history of Canada, I remember the treaties I studied, but there was never any mention in my history books in Prince Edward Island about the treaties signed by the Mi’kmaq of Atlantic Canada with the Crown, the Peace and Friendship Treaty. They were never mentioned.

This absence of knowledge in Canadian society about our Indigenous history is slowly ending, and the appointment of Mary May Simon as Governor General is important both as a symbol and as substance.

Colleagues, Mary May Simon is Governor General and the Governor General is Indigenous and I think that is wonderful. May there be many more appointments where Indigenous languages are given equal treatment to English and French. Thank you, colleagues.

(On motion of Senator Dalphond, debate adjourned.)

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