Gov. Gen. Simon to meet with Moe, visit Wanuskewin during first official Sask. visit

Mary Simon, Canada’s 30th Governor General, will meet with Premier Scott Moe and visit the First Nations University of Canada on Monday as she makes her first official visit to Saskatchewan.

The three-day visit will begin with greetings from dignitaries including Moe and Lt.-Gov. Russ Mirasty, followed by an inspection of an RCMP honour guard. After that, Simon will sit down with Moe for a meeting, followed by a sit-down with Mirasty.

At 2 p.m., Simon is scheduled to visit the First Nations University of Canada to join students in recording an Indigenous-language podcast and discuss efforts to revitalize Indigenous languages.

The day will end with an official reception at Government House in Regina, hosted by Mirasty.

The second day of Simon’s visit will begin with a stop at the Regina Open Door Society, where she’ll meet the artists who painted a mural on the building, and join newcomers to Regina who are participating in a language program.

After that, Simon will head to Saskatoon for a round-table discussion on mental health services for ranchers and farmers with mental health specialists from the SaskAgMatters network.

On Wednesday, Simon’s visit takes her to the Maternal Care Centre at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital.

That stop will be followed by a meeting with Bobby Cameron, chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, and Glen McCallum, president of the Métis Nation — Saskatchewan.

The visit will wrap up on Wednesday with a visit to Wanuskewin Heritage Park near Saskatoon. That will include a tour of the site and a question-and-answer session with young people.

While this will be Simon’s first official visit to the province, she visited the James Smith Cree Nation and Regina in 2022. This week’s visit comes as part of a broader effort to visit each province and territory and engage with Canadians.

Simon assumed the role in July of 2021 after the resignation of Julie Payette, becoming Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General. She previously served as Canadian Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs and Canadian Ambassador to Denmark, as well as secretary to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.