July 6, 2021 \u2013 Ottawa, Canada \u2013 The appointment of former Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Chair Mary Simon as Canada\u2019s 30th Governor General is a major step forward in relations between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples domestically, and globally. Ms. Simon is the first Inuk to be named to the position in Canada\u2019s history, and Canada\u2019s first Indigenous Governor General. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMary Simon distinguished herself as our former ICC Chair from 1986-1992,\u201d stated ICC Canada President Monica Ell-Kanayuk. \u201cShe was instrumental in the development of key policies that helped shape the modern Arctic, including the formation of the Arctic Council 25 years ago in September, 1996. As Canada\u2019s former Ambassador to the Arctic, and Ambassador to Denmark, our new Governor General has experience acting on behalf of the Crown \u2013 and understands the challenges faced by Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples in Canada.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mary Simon grew up in Kangiqsualujjuaq, and Kuujjuaq. She is a former President of Makivik Corporation headquartered in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, Quebec. She was ICC Chair from 1986 \u2013 1992. She was also the President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) from 2006 \u2013 2012. As ITK President she accepted the Apology to victims of residential schools on behalf of the Inuit of Canada from the Prime Minister at the time, famously responding in Inuktitut first to demonstrate that the Inuit language had survived attempts to get rid of Indigenous languages in Canada. Most recently Mary Simon was the Senior Negotiator in the Self Determination process lead by Makivik Corporation with the Government of Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCanada has appointed a skilled diplomat to a position that can contribute to the reconciliation process Canada is engaged in,\u201d said Monica Ell-Kanayuk. \u201cHer international contributions to the support and enhancement of Indigenous Human Rights are significant. In addition to the Arctic Council, she has contributed to the lengthy drafting process of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), passed at the United Nations in 2007 in New York.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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