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ADRIAN WYLD \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mark Carney selected former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour as the country\u2019s 31st Governor General.<\/p>\n
Arbour\u2019s appointment, however, appears to be a mistake. She does not speak an Indigenous language.<\/p>\n
Someone please call the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n
Tell him that Indigenous languages have been in operation far longer than English or French in this country and have more of a linguistic foundation here than two imported languages ever will.<\/p>\n
As someone who must represent Canada \u2014 the Iroquois word meaning \u201cthe village\u201d \u2014 it is simply unethical, irresponsible, and divisive to put someone in the job who cannot understand the names that describe many roads and cities in this country, communicate in the tongue of communities who occupy vast swaths of territory, and understand the knowledge that form the basis for democracy, health care and multiculturalism.<\/p>\n
She is francophone, of course \u2014 a good thing.<\/p>\n
It is kind of weird, though, that she is representing the King of England.<\/p>\n
I am therefore, here and now, registering an official complaint that Louise Arbour is unqualified to be this country\u2019s Governor General.<\/p>\n
Maybe I\u2019ll launch a lawsuit, arguing that her appointment violates the foundational principles of this country.<\/p>\n
At the very minimum, I demand she take a course in all Indigenous languages.<\/p>\n
There are about 80 of them.<\/p>\n
She can start with Inuktitut, one of the official languages of Nunavut, then move on to learn the 79 others.<\/p>\n
You think I\u2019m kidding?<\/p>\n
Arbour\u2019s appointment in June will mean the end of the term of Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person to ever serve in the role.<\/p>\n
Simon is an Inuk woman from northern Quebec who attended a federal day school, where she learned English and ended up working for Indigenous rights.<\/p>\n
Luckily, and unlike many Indigenous Peoples, she was able to maintain her traditional language, Inuktitut \u2014 a language spoken in over four million square kilometres of Canada\u2019s nearly 10-million square kilometre land mass (that\u2019s 40 per cent).<\/p>\n
Like the majority of Indigenous Peoples who spend a lifetime fighting for physical and cultural survival, she did not have time to learn both languages brought over by Europeans.<\/p>\n
Still, by some fluke \u2014 some might call it hard work, discipline, and incredible diplomacy and skill \u2014 Canada appointed its first Indigenous Governor General in 2021.<\/p>\n
Throughout her years as the representative of the Crown, Simon achieved strides never before seen in that office.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t JUSTIN TANG \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n Mary Simon was appointed Canada\u2019s first Indigenous Governor General in 2021.<\/p>\n She advocated for sustainable energy development in the North, human rights, education, and helped steer the Canadian government to adopt innovative environmental policies, inclusive cultural policies, and \u2014 for the first time \u2014 the adoption of elements of Indigenous rights into Canadian law.<\/p>\n She also faced countless, unprecedented attacks and derision by Canadian politicians, media commentators, and language rights groups regarding her inability to speak French fluently.<\/p>\n As late as this week, Canadian pundits were calling her appointment a \u201cmistake\u201d and described her lack of French as a \u201cdisrespect\u201d to francophones in Canada and a sign that \u201cofficial\u201d bilingualism is not taken seriously.<\/p>\n In 2022, two Quebec language rights groups launched a lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court to invalidate her appointment, arguing it violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.<\/p>\n Over her entire term as Governor General, Canada\u2019s Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages received more than 1,300 complaints regarding her inability to speak French. Media constantly brought it up as if that was the primary factor that defined her work.<\/p>\n In response, Simon expressed her deep respect of French and vowed to work at learning the language, which then led to complaints about the cost of her lessons.<\/p>\n The media kept track of those costs: as of September 2025 she had taken 324 hours of training at a cost of $52,000.<\/p>\n Still, Simon attempted to speak French the best she could in every speech, every appearance, and in every interview. She often reminded people that she came from Quebec and was trying to represent all Canadians no matter the language she spoke.<\/p>\n Nothing was good enough, though. In late 2025, officials from the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois argued she wasn\u2019t making enough of an \u201ceffort.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t By 2026, the appointment of Canada\u2019s first Indigenous Governor General who spoke a language birthed in this place \u2014 but not two others brought here \u2014 led to civil war, strife, and the end of the country.<\/p>\n Or not.<\/p>\n It certainly led to the appointment of a Governor General who can\u2019t speak a truly Canadian language, though.<\/p>\n Someone call the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Niigaan Sinclair Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe and is a columnist at the Winnipeg Free Press. <\/p>\n
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