Mary Simon is the Governor General we need

There was a cloud hanging over the otherwise joyful installation of this country’s first Indigenous Governor General on Monday.

While Mary Simon’s appointment as the Queen’s representative in Canada has won almost universal acclaim, some resentful critics argue she should have been ruled out for the job because she is not fluent in French, one of the country’s two official languages. And after receiving hundreds of these complaints, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages is now investigating Simon’s nomination.

Perhaps Official Languages Commissioner Raymond Theberge felt compelled to act. But this unfortunate investigation is the last thing Canada needs today. It is a disservice to Simon because it unfairly casts doubts on her suitability for this office. It will be taken as an insult by many Indigenous people. And for this reason, it could prove a setback to the important cause of reconciliation.

Whatever the critics say, Simon is exactly who Canada needs today. After the recent discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves on or near former residential school sites, Canadians have no choice. Centuries of injustices committed against the original inhabitants of this land must be recognized and dealt with. We must establish a new, more respectful and equitable relationship with the country’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.

To do this, Canada urgently requires leaders who can bridge the divide that too often separates Indigenous peoples from everyone else in the country. Simon is such a leader. An Inuk woman, she has a long, distinguished career in setting Indigenous policy. She was part of the patriation of Canada’s constitution in the early 1980s and participated in the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. She was also president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which represents more than 65,000 Inuit in Canada. And as bilingual — in English and Inuktitut — she can speak directly to many Indigenous people in their own, traditional tongue.

No, she is not fluent in French. She was, however, born and grew up in Quebec. But she was denied an opportunity to learn French in the federal government day schools she had to attend. Yet that lack of French didn’t stop her from working to advance the interests of all Quebecers. She helped negotiate a historic agreement between the Inuit and Cree of northern Quebec and the provincial government. That government, by the way, made her an Officer of l’Ordre national du Quebec, the highest honour Quebec can award.

Obviously, it would be preferable if Simon was adept in French, the main language of eight million Canadians. She has, however, committed to becoming fluent in that language. For now, her critics should remember Canada spent decades addressing legitimate grievances from the country’s Frenchspeaking minority. In 2021, Canada must address the legitimate grievances of another very important minority: its Indigenous peoples.

In selecting Simon as Canada’s 30th Governor General, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not set a new rule for who can be eligible for this office. Instead he made an exception, a timely, necessary exception, to the established convention that governors general be fluent in both official languages. Too bad the language commissioner can’t accept this and leave things alone.

“I have heard from Canadians who describe a renewed sense of possibility for our country and hope I can bring people together,” Simon said Monday.

Canadians of goodwill and from every background and linguistic group should support her in achieving that goal.