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Speech by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, on the occasion of the presentation of the
2008 Michener Awards
for Journalism - Rideau Hall, Friday, June 10, 2009
 My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are
delighted to welcome you to Rideau Hall for the presentation of the
Michener Award for Journalism, which was named after my predecessor,
whose motto was “Truth in the Service of Freedom.”
This could also very well be the motto for journalism.
The journalist I was and the Governor General I am know that
journalism plays a vital role in asserting the civic responsibility
of a community, a country and the world.
I know because I grew up in a country where journalists who dared to
challenge censorship and tyranny were assassinated.
I know because when I was a journalist, I kept in mind and at heart
the example set by those journalists who pursued the truth, often
risking their lives to do so.
I know because during the State and official visits I have made as
Governor General of Canada to Africa, Afghanistan, South America and
Europe, and during my trips all across this country, I have seen
that the pens, microphones and cameras wielded by journalists can
also act as instruments of social transformation.
As I said at the 2006 Canadian Press Dinner in Halifax, journalism
does not consist merely of reporting the news to the public; it is
also a means of holding a magnifying glass up to world rather than a
funhouse mirror.
The world in which we live today is sometimes an enigma, a maze
without landmarks, or opportunities for reflection or analysis.
We are voraciously, continuously bombarded with information; this
often leaves us stunned, if not dumbfounded, and we have no way of
stepping back to consider it all.
Faced with a world that always seems to be in crisis, robbed of its
dignity, stripped of its beauty, divided in its fragility, warming
at its poles, and assaulted by the fluctuations of its economies, we
must also be given the power to reflect, raise our awareness and
seek clarification.
I think that that is the most important - and noble - aspect of your
profession.
I strongly and unfailingly believe in a journalism that insists on
the art of reflection, the art of nuance.
It is an art that listens to the life that is being lived, as the
writer Nicole Brossard once put it, an art that helps us learn key
lessons for the future.
It is an art that the six finalists we are honouring tonight have
mastered admirably: their quest for the truth and - dare I say -
stubbornness have had a very real and decisive influence on society
as a whole.
Whether through an investigation of the use of tasers, the
governance of a post-secondary educational institution, the
efficiency of an emergency 911 call system, measures to stop the
spread of infection in hospitals, the high levels of lead in the
toys sold in this country or improving First Nations child support
services in Canada, information in the service of truth won over
inaction every time.
Each of the finalists deserves our thanks and congratulations.
Congratulations too to Ed Struzik, a senior writer with the Edmonton
Journal, and this year’s recipient of the Michener-Deacon
Fellowship.
I was particularly touched by his project, which will help Canadians
better understand the Arctic sovereignty issue.
As you know, I have just returned from a trip to the Canadian Arctic
to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Nunavut
government. I met with the people there and, as I am every time I
cross the 60th parallel, I was struck by the generosity and
ingenuity of the women, men and youth who have, for thousands of
years, inhabited the land that makes up 20 percent of Canada’s
landmass.
Also striking, and unfortunate, is our misunderstanding of the
realities, traditions, achievements and wealth of the Arctic,
although I am certain that Mr. Struzik will help remedy this with
insight and awareness.
Finally, I would like to offer my heartfelt and sincerest thanks to
all those present tonight for their constant professional vigilance
and tireless efforts to help us better understand the world.
You are our guiding light, and because of you, the world is a little
less confusing and we feel a little less lost.
Thank you very much.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean
Governor General of Canada
Rideau Hall
June 10, 2009
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2008 Michener Award
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