On Monday evening, I attended the first annual Alex Fountain Memorial Lecture at King’s College. Kicking off the series was former Governor-General of Canada Michaelle Jean who was there to talk about social change.
Ignoring the obvious technology shortcomings that plagued the show (a key video that apparently would have served as a powerful focal point in the middle of the presentation failed to load, leading to a 20 minute break before the decision was made to forge ahead without it. As I’ve learned from our own events at work, always have guaranteed means to deliver the video (ie not streaming off the Internet)), I came away disappointed with Jean’s presentation.
She started by talking a bit about herself, which is a strong story for sure. A refugee from Haiti, she rose the ranks as a journalist in Quebec before being named to the post of Governor General.
But she made a misstep by offering a glossed over look at Nova Scotia’s own history, while trying to herald the province as the starting point for social change and political action throughout history in Canada. One folly was saying how the local indigenous people welcomed European explorers and than settlers with open arms, a statement that seems to ignore the infamous Edward Cornwallis’ scalp bounty during the so-called Father Le Loutre’s War. This is hardly an event that has been lost in the history books. In fact, it still lives on in present day with a junior high school in Halifax formerly named after Cornwallis opting to have their name changed over the summer.
Another historical oversight was talking about how Nova Scotia welcomed Loyalists to their province during the American Revolution and she made a strong effort to mention that this included Black Loyalists. Coming from the South Shore of the province, and growing up not far from where the Black Loyalists settled, it’s troublesome to watch that particular bit of history be misrepresented and I felt that the struggles that Black Loyalists faced (though not slaves, they were hardly welcomed into the homes of Nova Scotians) when coming here.
All in all, the speech didn’t resonate and it never really grabbed a tight hold onto what the actual topic was aiming to be about. I was expecting something meatier than just “get out and vote” and “write your local political representatives about your views.”
As can be expected, with the topic of social change and the state of the world today, she was asked about the Occupy movement which has captured the attention of many around the world. Her answer was measured in a way that could even be considered condescending. She called the movement “healthy” and said that utilizing the right to protest is “productive”. She formerly represented the Queen in our government, and while a safe and self-censored answer to that question could be expected, I had again hoped for something with more substance.
Unfortunately, that’s how the whole evening felt. I would have been interested to hear the story and the passion of Michaelle Jean, the former refugee who worked hard to become a noted journalist, not just in Quebec but in Canada as a whole. Instead, it was a very safe talk by Michaelle Jean, former Governor-General, taking considerable care to not say anything to controversial.
A shame.