Mary Simon officially becomes Canadas first Inuk Governor General

Mary Simon has officially become Canada's first Indigenous Governor General.

Simon â€" an Inuk from Kuujjuaq in northeastern Quebec â€" was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fill the role earlier this month and took her oaths this morning in a ceremony at the Senate chambers in Ottawa.

The swearing-in ceremony is, for the first time, being conducted in both English and Inuktitut and broadcast in eight Indigenous languages on CBC Radio.

CBC's chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton will host coverage of Monday's event from Ottawa on CBC News Network, CBC TV, and CBC Gem beginning at 10 a.m. ET.

Governor General Designate Mary Simon is greeted by the Usher of the Black Rod J. Greg Peters as she arrives for the Governor General of Canada installation ceremony in Ottawa on Monday, July 26, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Viewers can also follow the event on CBCnews.ca and on Facebook. CBC Indigenous Facebook is hosting the English stream, CBC Nunavut Facebook is hosting the Inuktitut stream, and CBC North Facebook is sharing both.

Following the ceremony, Simon will visit the National War Memorial to inspect a guard of honour and lay flowers in honour of Canada's war dead â€" her first act as the Queen's representative in Canada.

Simon took her first step into the official role Thursday when she spoke with the Queen.

In a short clip of the online conversation that was posted on The Royal Family's Instagram account, the Queen said it was good to speak with Simon and told her she was "taking over a very important job."

"Yes, I'm very privileged to be able to do this work over the next few years," Simon said. "I think it's vitally important for our country."

Indigenous leaders â€" particularly representatives of the Inuit community â€" have praised the appointment.

"I'm excited for Mary, I'm actually very excited for Canada. This is a step forward in reconciliation," Natan Obed, the president of the national Inuit group Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), said Monday morning.

"It's also just a potential for Canadians to understand more about Canada and Canadians and what incredible diversity and strength we have in our Indigenous peoples, and also what great leadership and accomplishment we have in Inuit,  First Nations and Métis in this country."

But concerns have been raised about Simon's ability to speak French.

While she is fully fluent in English and Inuktitut, Simon is not fluent in French. Typically, the governor general is expected to have a complete command of both official languages.

Despite Simon's promise to continue taking French lessons while serving as governor general, hundreds of French speaking Canadians have written complaints to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages triggering an investigation by Commissioner Raymond Théberge.

Despite growing up in northern Quebec, Simon said she never had an opportunity to learn French at an early age because it was not taught at the federal day school she attended.

Day schools operated separately from residential schools but were run by many of the same groups that ran residential schools. They operated from the 1860s to the 1990s.

Obed said Canadians need to rethink the way they view bilingualism.

"Inuktitut is a founding language of this country. And yes, Mary Simon is not fluent in French today, she has pledged to learn it, but really, we as Canadians have to think more broadly and holistically about the linguistic diversity of this country," he said.

"We have to celebrate Indigenous languages and understand that they are founding languages of this country. And that matters, as do French and English, absolutely. But Inuktitut belongs in Rideau Hall just as much as French and English."

WATCH | Languages commissioner says he's received almost 600 complaints about next GG's lack of fluency in French:

Official Languages Commissioner Raymond Théberge joins Power & Politics to discuss his investigation of the process that chose Mary Simon as the next governor general. 3:49

The government has maintained that Simon is an exemplary candidate despite her lack of fluency in French.

Simon brings an extensive resume with her to Rideau Hall, following a career that included various positions as an advocate and ambassador.

She helped negotiate the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in 1975, a landmark deal between the Cree and Inuit in Quebec's north, the provincial government and Hydro-Québec.

Widely seen as the country's "first modern treaty," the agreement saw the province acknowledge Cree and Inuit rights in the James Bay region for the first time, such as exclusive hunting, fishing and trapping rights and self-governance in some areas. It also offered financial compensation in exchange for the construction of massive new hydroelectric dams to fuel the growing province's demand for new energy sources.

Simon was also an Inuit representative during the negotiations that led to the patriation of the Constitution in 1982 â€" which included an acknowledgement of Indigenous treaty rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

WATCH | Mary Simon challenges prime minister Pierre Trudeau in 1984:

The First Ministers Constitutional Conference was held in March of 1984. This exchange happened during a discussion about gender equity. 3:29

In 1986, Simon was tapped to lead the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), a group created in 1977 to represent the Inuit in all the Arctic countries. At 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.

In 1994, former prime minister Jean Chrétien appointed Simon as Canada's first ambassador for circumpolar affairs.

During her time in that role, she helped negotiate the creation of an eight-country group known today as the Arctic Council. She would later be appointed as Canada's ambassador to Denmark.

Beginning in 2006, Simon served two terms as president of the ITK. In that role, she delivered a response on behalf of Inuit to the formal apology for residential schools presented in the House of Commons in 2008.

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