Description
Mary Simon was one of nine committee members on the Nunavut Implementation Commission, which was formed by the Canadian federal government in 1993. The commission negotiated the creation of the territory of Nunavut in 1999. From 1994-2004 she also served as Canadian Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs. In 2006, Mary was elected president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, an office she held until 2012. In December 2009, in that role, she was present at an event jointly hosted by the University of Edinburgh’s Centre of Canadian Studies and National Museums Scotland to discuss development issues facing the Canadian Arctic, including human health, economic development, infrastructure and the problems caused by climate change. In 2021, Mary Simon became Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General and was in London around the time of Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee, meeting her for the first time on March 15th 2022 and then participating in Jubilee events from June 2nd-6th, including the service of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, the party at Buckingham Palace, and the Jubilee parade.
To hear Mary Simon speak about meeting the Queen and their conversation about residential schools, reconciliation, and other matters, have a look at this interview with CTV news anchor Lisa LaFlamme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HFn4ohrahI
Bibliographic sources
https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/all-news/inuit-301109
Image credit: New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General – https://gg.govt.nz/image-galleries/9450/media?page=5, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=119159470