Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
When Mary Simon walks into the Senate on Monday to be installed as the country's next governor general, she will find the upper chamber sparsely populated.
The installation ceremonies for Simon's predecessors have attracted hundreds of people packed tightly into the Senate, including cabinet ministers, senators, MPs, justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, dignitaries and invited guests.
For Simon, there will be 44 people in attendance to view the ceremony in-person to follow public health guidelines.
Federal officials planning the ceremony say public health rules will also require everyone to wear masks and be physically distant.
Officials are also making a rare request for Canadians to not line the streets around the building or the nearby National War Memorial where Simon will lay a wreath after officially becoming commander-in-chief.
Instead, they are encouraging people to watch the broadcast of the ceremony that will include traditional Inuit elements as Simon becomes the country's first Indigenous governor general.
In a tweet, Simon said she and husband Whit Fraser were "immensely proud and excited" as they prepared for Monday's installation ceremony.
"We hope you will tune in to experience this meaningful event alongside us," read the tweet sent from the official account of the governor general.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Simon, an Inuk leader and former Canadian diplomat, as his choice to be the Queen's representative in Canada earlier this month, replacing Julie Payette, who resigned in January after a review found Rideau Hall had become a toxic workplace.
The appointment came amid grief and anger at the federal government over the historic and current treatment of Indigenous people in Canada after several First Nations used ground-penetrating radar to find what are believed to be the unmarked graves of children at former residential schools.
Simon's first speech as governor general will touch on the themes of youth and reconciliation, but the text of the address was still being worked on late last week.
Before the installation ceremony starts, there will be a lighting of a traditional Inuit oil lamp, called a Qulliq, inside the Senate chamber. It will remain lit during the ceremony.
Simon is also to be greeted at the Senate building by the Ottawa River Singers, an Indigenous drumming circle. Once inside the building, and after being greeted by Indigenous leaders, Simon will make her way to the chamber being accompanied by a traditional Inuit drummer.
The ceremony is also a first inside the Senate's temporary home while the Centre Block remains closed for a decade-long renovation on the aging parliamentary building.
When Simon officially becomes the country's 30th governor general, it will also mean that the chief justice of the Supreme Court will go back to only having one job.
Richard Wagner has served as administrator, as the role is called, since Payette's resignation in January. In a statement, Wagner says he gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for the country's democratic institutions and the strength of Canada's constitutional monarchy.
"It has been a reassuring realization, and confirmation, for me," he says. "We are fortunate to have these institutional mechanisms in place."
He also congratulated Simon on her new role, saying he has every confidence she will excel as governor general.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2021.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.