Reconciliation 'overarching' issue for Gov. Gen. Mary Simon

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon says Canadians have sent her a clear message that reconciliation is at the top of a "chain" of issues she should address during her term as the Queen's representative in Canada.

In an interview that aired Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live, the recently installed Governor General said she saw the issues of reconciliation, mental health, climate change, youth issues and education as linked, and they would be her focus over the next five years.

Addressing reconciliation specifically, she said there had been a shift in Canadian society such that "we're willing to look at the truth" when it comes to Canada's history with residential schools. She said that was reflected in countless messages she received following her appointment.

"I think the day they found those unmarked graves of children that died at residential schools, that was the day the wound really opened up," she told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.

Despite the fact that deaths of students had been recorded during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's process, Simon said the discovery of the graves "told the story in a very open way" that "made people realize more and more that this is something we can't hide."

She said her role was not a political one, but she was able to help people understand the issue and how they could bring about change.

Simon was appointed as Governor General in July, becoming the first Indigenous person to hold the position. An Inuk from Kuujjuaq in northeastern Quebec, she had previously served on the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Arctic Council and as ambassador to Denmark.

Simon told Barton about her time as an honorary witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and her own experience as a child.

Her family was deemed ineligible to be educated under the federal residential school system, she said, and that led to her father needing to do a great deal of homeschooling.

She also wasn't allowed to speak Inuktitut during her time at federal day schools.

"That was kind of the beginning of where I thought things weren't right. Something was not right, not fair or not right."

Simon speaks Inuktitut and English, but after her appointment some criticized her lack of proficiency in French. She said she understood the concern, and noted she is taking lessons two or three times a week.

"At my age, it might be a little bit more difficult," she said.

Simon also addressed an upcoming papal visit to Canada, the date of which is not yet set.