The Governor General of Canada, the Right Honourable Mary Simon, will be making her first official visit to Saskatchewan early next week. The visit, which starts on Monday, will see her visiting Regina, Saskatoon, and more over the course of three days.
The visit starts Monday when she will be greeted at the Legislature Building in Regina by Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty and Premier Scott Moe. The welcoming ceremony will also include an inspection of an RCMP guard of honour. After the ceremony, Simon will meet with the premier, before going to Government House for a meeting with Lt. Gov. Mirasty.
In the afternoon, Simon will be visiting First Nations University, where she will be a guest on an episode of the podcast ‘pîkiskwêwin’, with the discussion focussing on the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages. The day will then be capped off with an official reception hosted by the Lieutenant Governor at Government House.
Tuesday morning, Simon will meet with the artists who painted the mural on the exterior wall of the Regina Open Door Society, before joining newcomers to Canada who are taking language classes at the Regina Open Door Society. From there, Simon will head to Saskatoon for a roundtable discussion with mental health specialists about the issues affecting farming and ranching communities. The discussion is being facilitated by SaskAgMatters.
Wednesday, the day will start with a visit to the Maternal Care Centre at the Jim Pattison Hospital, followed by a meeting with Bobby Cameron, Chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, and Glen McCallum, President of Métis Nation of Saskatchewan. The visit will then wrap up with a visit to Wanuskewin Heritage Park.
While this is the first official visit for Simon to the province, she did come in September of 2022 to visit the James Smith Cree Nation following the mass stabbing incident. She also delivered remarks for Truth and Reconciliation (Miyo-wîcîwitowin) Day in Regina that year.