State Luncheon hosted by the Canadian Governor-General
May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the Realm of New Zealand, in English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.
Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon (Sign)
May I specifically greet you: Your Excellencies, Rt Hon Michalle Jean and Mr Jean-Daniel Lafond; Your Excellency Penny Reedie, Canadian High Commissioner to New Zealand; Your Excellency Kate Lackey, New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen. To our Canadian hosts may I also say: Greetings and Bonjour.
Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and I to this State Luncheon here at Government House in Ottawa today.
I would like to take this opportunity to speak briefly as to the significance of this visit and of the relationship between our two countries.
I would first like to state how honoured we are that Your Excellencies and the Canadian Government have accorded us the honour of this first State Visit by a New Zealand Governor-General to Canada. The programme that has been organised for us is comprehensive and touches on many aspects of the relationship between our two countries.
Your Excellency, our two countries enjoy close and friendly relations. Reflecting our historical and constitutional links with Britain, and particularly the offices we both hold, we share a common Commonwealth heritage and Westminster parliamentary and legal traditions.
I know from my time as a Judge that there are many connections between the judicial systems in New Zealand and Canada and their personnel and that our superior Courts frequently quote Canadian cases in their judgments and have lawyers citing Canadian cases likewise.
I am also aware of many connections in the wider legal fraternity. Some examples suffice. Canadian legal and constitutional expert, Peter Hogg QC holds an initial degree from Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from there in 2006 for his many accomplishments. Another to receive an honorary doctorate from Victoria University, in 2007, was Emeritus Professor David Mullan, the Integrity Commissioner for Toronto. Professor Peter Burns QC originally from Dunedin and then Auckland has in the last 30 years been a law teacher and international figure in criminal law reform in this country. Lastly Justice Grant Hammond of the New Zealand Court of Appeal is a Kiwi who came back to New Zealand from Canada after having been a Law Reform Commissioner in Alberta and a law professor previous to that.
At the Government and Parliamentary level there are also many connections. For example, Speaker of the House of Commons, Hon Peter Milliken MP, led a multi-party parliamentary delegation to New Zealand in July-August 2005 while several members of the New Zealand Government have visited Canada in recent years.
Our countries are both founding members of the United Nations and have worked collaboratively in the ASEAN Regional Forum, APEC, OECD, WTO, and the Cairns Group of agricultural exporters.
On a regional level, while New Zealand looks to the Pacific to assist the young and small nations of that region, Canada has invested heavily in assisting many of the nations of the Caribbean.
In this, Your Excellency, we both have a strong personal connection and reason for understanding. While I was born in New Zealand, my grandparents migrated from India to Fiji where my parents were born. You, on the other hand, were born in Haiti and you and your family migrated to Canada. I have made it a continuing theme during my tenure as Governor-General to affirm New Zealand's growing cultural diversity.
New Zealand and Canada also share a strong defence heritage. Before I left for this trip to Ottawa, I spoke on last Friday at the National War Memorial on ANZAC Day when New Zealanders commemorate those to served and died in the First and Second World Wars and many other conflicts. I am keenly aware that on many of those battlefields, New Zealanders fought and died alongside men and women from Canada.
That shared history and that level of co-operation and respect has seen our defence forces work alongside each other in a number of international security operations, such as in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Timor-Leste.
These and many other connections and traditions have seen New Zealand and Canada engender a similar view of the world. We tend to identify with each other's interests and concerns.
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate, both on a personal level, and on behalf of the New Zealand Government, deep thanks for Canada's hospitality in hosting this State Visit and your personal part in that. I am confident that much valuable knowledge and information will be shared and we will each leave with a better understanding of our respective countries' interests.
And on that note, I will close in New Zealand's first language, Maori, offering greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.