In 2012, Simon founded the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation, which provides children in Nunavut with physical and mental health supports. ![]() In that role, she delivered a response on behalf of Inuit to the formal apology on residential schools presented in the House of Commons in 2008. She would later join the executive council of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, now called the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), a non-governmental organization representing approximately 180,000 Inuit of Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia.Īt the ICC, she championed two priorities for Indigenous Peoples of the north: protecting their way of life from environmental damage and pushing for responsible economic development on their traditional territory.īeginning in 2006, Simon served two terms as president of the ITK. The organization now manages tens of millions of dollars in investments, including an ownership stake in Canadian North, a major air carrier in the Arctic. In 1982, Simon was elected president of Makivik Corp., created to administer the funds the Inuit received from development of their lands. She was the first Inuk to represent Canada as the ambassador to Denmark. WATCH | Governor general-designate Mary Simon describes her early life:ĭuration 2:41 Trudeau picks Mary Simon as the 30th governor general of Canada. Simon has held a number of executive positions with various Inuit advocacy groups, starting with the Northern Quebec Inuit Association and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the national Inuit organization, in the 1970s. "Many months out of the year we camped and lived on the land, hunted, fished and gathered food and maintained an active connection with our Inuit heritage and language," she said. Simon told today's press conference she lived "a very traditional lifestyle" during her adolescence. She has spent years advocating for Inuit rights and culture. Simon is an Inuk from Kuujjuaq, a small village on the coast of Ungava Bay in northeastern Quebec. Here are some key facts about Canada's next governor general: Lifelong advocate for Inuit Simon said she was "honoured, humbled and ready to be Canada's first Indigenous governor general." Russell Mirasty.ĭuring a press conference today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Simon's appointment a "historic step." When Mary Simon is officially installed as Canada's governor general, she will become the first Indigenous person to serve in the role.Ī number of Indigenous people have taken on the viceregal role of lieutenant governor at the provincial level, including current Saskatchewan Lt.-Gov.
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