Canada has a new Governor General, Rt. Hon. Mary Simon. We wish her well as she assumes her duties, especially with her challenge to, as she has said, “…bridge cultures and communities”. How wonderful it is to have indigeneity at home in Rideau Hall!

This appointment brings back two personal memories. Some years ago, I was part of a Toronto team leading an International Circumpolar Festival. While building connections and seeking ideas for participants from the northern regions of Canada, Russia, Denmark/Greenland, USA/Alaska and other nations at the top of the globe, I remember hearing about, and I think even meeting, a dynamic Inuk woman who was emerging as a forceful leader for her people. That Inuk was Mary Simon before she became President of the Inuit Tapirit Kanatami, the national Inuit organisation. Now she is the symbol of our entire Canadian nation to the world.