Join the School of Policy Studies for the Tom Courchene Distinguished Speaker Series featuring Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada who will be discussing "Through the eyes of the North: Our collective responsibility." This event will be hosted by Robert Watts, an expert in Indigenous policy, negotiations, training, and conflict resolution.
Ms. Simon gained national and international recognition for her work on Arctic and Indigenous issues and for her efforts in advocating for Inuit rights, youth, education and culture. This event bridges academic and professional policy communities to engage faculty, students, policymakers, politicians, and other opinion leaders with a particular focus on Indigenous Policy and Governance.
About Mary Simon
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon was sworn in on July 26, 2021, as Canada’s first Indigenous governor general. She is the 30th governor general since Confederation.
Mary Simon was born on August 21, 1947, in Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik (Quebec), to Nancy May (Angnatuk-Askew), her Inuk mother, and Bob Mardon May, her father, who moved to the Arctic to work for the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Ms. Simon began her career as a radio broadcaster with the CBC Northern Service (now CBC North) in the 1970s. Following this, she held a series of executive positions with the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (now Makivik Corporation) and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which centred on negotiating the first land claims agreement in Canada, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. As president of Makivik Corporation, she was directly involved with the implementation of the agreement, along with the protection and promotion of Inuit rights.
Find out more about this event
Tom Courchene Distinguished Speaker Series
Tom Courchene, the inaugural director for the School of Policy Studies, established this series in order to serve as abridge between the academic and professional policy communities, engaging faculty, students, policy makers, politicians, and other opinion leaders, in discussion on major policy issues.
The Margie and Tom Courchene Endowment Fund supports the costs associated with bringing eminent academics and public policy experts to Queen’s University campus, with a focus dedicated to a major public lecture and other events relating to Indigenous Policy and Governance, a policy field in which Tom has become increasingly engaged in recent years.
