Mary Simon will be installed as Canada’s first Indigenous governor-general on July 26th.
But controversy is already swirling around the appointment since Simon speaks English and Inuktitut but not French.
The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages has already received dozens of complaints.
While she intends to learn French, assistant political science professor Mario Levesque with Mount Allison University says those words ring hollow.
“She’s been short-listed for the governor general’s position two other times. She would have known that. So she should have been taking French lessons already.”
Levesque says not being able to speak both official languages will be a liability for her.
“How would English Canada feel if there was a governor-general that only spoke French and Inuktitut for example? That’s a good question. I bet a lot of English Canadians would not like that and find it unacceptable.”
Levesque doesn’t put any weight into Simon’s statement that she will learn French, calling it a public relations move.
He adds Canada is bilingual and the governor-general needs to be able to speak both official languages.
