Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean
Speech on the Occasion of the State Dinner Hosted by His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana
Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, November 28, 2006
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Thank you very much for those kind words, and the warm sentiments expressed about the strong ties between our countries.
I could not agree more. Since my arrival in your beautiful country yesterday, I have certainly had occasions to witness the strong bonds of friendship that link Canada and Ghana.
Our relationship goes back one hundred years. As many of you know, Canadian missionaries established a mission station in Navrongo in 1906.
Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of meeting with many members of the Canadian community here in Ghana. At that reception, I heard stories about the friends these Canadians have made here, the rewarding work they are doing, and how much they have learned from you.
Tomorrow, I will participate in a dinner at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, named in honour of a great Ghanaian.
I am very impressed by the work they are doing there, helping to shape the next generation who will foster peace and security here in Africa, and throughout the world.
Ghana is also home to the longest running aid program led by the Canadian International Development Agency. CIDA has been active here since 1957, the year your nation achieved independence.
I’m pleased to note that Ghana is also a “country of concentration”. Canada has dramatically increased its development aid in recognition of the success your country has had in strengthening the principles of democracy and human rights.
This can be seen, in part, in the active role Ghana is playing in international peacekeeping. With more than 2,600 troops and civilian police serving in various UN missions, your country is helping to make the world a safer place.
This commitment to peacekeeping is a characteristic our two nations share. I was pleased to learn that Canada has helped support the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre through our own Pearson Peacekeeping Centre.
Of course, the ties between our two countries go far beyond the “government to government” relationship. Over the years, numerous Canadians have come to work and live in Ghana….teachers, development workers, entrepreneurs, and many others.
As well, Ghanaians have travelled to Canada, to study and work, and in many cases to make a new home for themselves. Today, there are some 17,000 Canadians of Ghanaian descent.
Clearly, Canada and Ghana are more than partners… we are good friends.
As your country prepares for next year’s 50th anniversary of independence, Canada is proud to stand with Ghana and celebrate how far you have come in such a short time.
As Ghana’s great writer Ama Ata Aidoo has said : “there is no use screaming about how independent you are by driving away the colonialists if you do not make independence meaningful.”
The people of Ghana have taken those words to heart. There have been struggles, but there have been successes as well.
You have achieved a great deal, in terms of fostering democracy and encouraging economic growth and prosperity.
I firmly believe that the economic partnership between Canada and Ghana must be part of and practised within an ethical framework respectful of the people, respectful of their needs and aspirations, and respectful of the ecological integrity of the land where we draw our resources.
Furthermore, the attention you have been giving education is vital. As well as your efforts to increase access to health services.
You have undertaken to reform the justice system in order to make it more transparent. You have undertaken to put an end to corruption and to promote the issue of good governance.
Kofi Annan says that it is essential to find African solutions to African problems. This is precisely what you are doing and Canada commends you for it.
Ghana is indeed a winner, a fact that was well illustrated earlier this year, during the FIFA World Cup!
I am sure all Ghanaians will long remember the tremendous play of their squad, who beat redoubtable opponents, like the Czech Republic and the USA, and were only defeated by such football powers as Italy and Brazil!
Things look good for 2010 in South Africa!
And things also look good for Ghana’s future.
As it looks to the future, Ghana has shown that it is willing to confront the past. I am impressed by your government’s decision to apologize for what was done hundreds of years ago by people of this region involved in the slave trade.
As a descendant of slaves, that touched me very much. I know that we cannot go back and solve past injustices. All we can do is learn from the lessons of the past—even the painful lessons—and use that knowledge to build a better future.
I will be traveling to Elmina Castle, where so many Africans waited to be deported to the Americas as slaves.
I will stand at the “Door of No Return”, looking towards the ocean.
I will think of the millions of people packed tightly in rickety ships bound for unknown lands.
Faraway lands where they were deprived of their memories, of their languages, of their heritage, of their dignity and, most of all, of their freedom.
I will stand and pray for those who never completed the journey and whose bodies were thrown out to the ocean.
As I will stand there, and reconnect with the land of my ancestors, I will salute your openness and I will accept your apology.
The time has come to recapture that moment of African history in order to move ahead together.
As governor general of Canada, I am pleased to acknowledge that my country and Ghana have achieved a great deal together in the past 50 years. I am certain that we will achieve even more in the years ahead.
And so, ladies and gentlemen, may I say sisters and brothers, on that note I would also like to make a toast. Please join me in raising your glasses to the proud people of Ghana.
May Canada and Ghana continue to build on the solid foundation of friendship that is our shared legacy. May we draw inspiration from our shared success, and work together for the good of this nation, for the good of Africa, and for all humanity.
Thank you with all my heart.
