'An inspirational moment' Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. Mary Simon, at the moment she's needed most: Maclean's photo of the week is of Canada's first Indigenous Governor General. Simon believes her appointment will be good for Canada: "I can confidently say that my appointment is a historic and inspirational moment for Canada and an important step forward on the long path towards reconciliation," she said after Justin Trudeau introduced her. "Indeed, my appointment comes at an especially reflective and dynamic time in our shared history." Writing in Maclean's, Paul Wells puts the appointment in perspective. She should be fine. We tend to forget this in Canada, where the tendency to make spectacular choices has been a recent temptation, but part of the point of the Crown is that the institution should be bigger than the individual. This point has been made radiantly clear for decades by Elizabeth Windsor, who fell into the role by pure genetic accident and who was, without difficulty, Margaret Thatcher’s Queen and Tony Blair’s, Harold Wilson’s as well as Boris Johnson’s. They could be quirky. She needn’t be. It does no good for kings to enfeoff themselves to popularity, as Shakespeare’s Henry IV reminded us. Just show up. Mary Simon has been a pillar of many Canadian communities and now will be again of another. She’s needed and ready. Wells sees this is one more omen of the election to come. Simon has quite the CV, as CTV reports. A longtime advocate for the Inuit and Canada's North, Simon represented the Inuit during repatriation of the Constitution and was involved in the creation of Nunavut. She was named Canada's first ambassador for circumpolar affairs in 1994. Five years after that, she additionally became Canada’s ambassador to Denmark, making her the first Inuk ambassador for the country. She also, judging from her Twitter account, has eclectic tastes in culture. As of Tuesday morning, her personal Twitter account followed 478 other users, most of them relating to the Inuit, Canada's North, Canadian politics or Canadian media. However, the following list does provide a few signs that Simon may occasionally have interests other than advocacy—it features Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu, former Toronto Raptor Kawhi Leonard, and a handful of entertainers, including Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian West. Almost everyone welcomed the news—even the Bloc!—although there was grumbling about the fact that she speaks Inuktitut but not French. In the Globe, John Ibbitson writes that she will have to learn French, but wonders if there is a new rule. Is there now to be a new rule: that senior officials within the Canadian government must be able to speak either both official languages, or one official language plus an Indigenous language? On Twitter, writer Robert Jago wondered why we don't appoint the best and give them time to learn French, which is an interesting idea. BTW: Your humble correspondent saw this appointment coming. Trains! The Canadian Press reports that Transport Minister Omar Alghabra laid out some details of the government's tentative plan to build a high-frequency corridor linking Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, which could cost $6 to 12 billion. This would allow for more, faster trains, on time more often, and the trains would mostly be electric, cutting carbon emissions. It will take until 2030, though. Another day, another poll: Speaking of election promises, a new Leger poll finds the Liberals with a narrow lead over the Conservatives. "These numbers put the Liberals in the driver's seat to form a government," pollster Andrew Enns said. "A majority government is still a bit of a question mark." Other recent polls have the Liberals further ahead. Jurisdiction to Cowessess: Justin Trudeau and Scott Moe signed an agreement Tuesday that will allow Cowessess First Nation to be the first to retake jurisdiction of its child welfare under Canada’s Bill C-92, which empowers Indigenous communities to reclaim jurisdiction, Global reports. The Saskatchewan community and every other First Nation in Canada was stripped of its decision-making power over children in care in 1951. Cowessess is the site of a former residential school where an estimated 751 unmarked graves were discovered last month. How hard did they try? Catholics said in 2015 they could only fundraise a total of $3.9 million for residential school survivors but CBC News discovered the church has raised nearly $300 million since November 2005 for church construction. "They didn't keep their promise. You can't just say, 'Oh we tried. That's too bad,' " Star Blanket Cree Nation Chief Michael Starr said. "There is a lot of hate, a lot of anger out there. The church has to work with us. It has to be tangible. Keep your promise." MADD at Rankin: Mothers Against Drunk Driving says Iain Rankin should follow the examples of Scott Moe and Gordon Campbell, both of whom responded to revelations about drunk driving charges by taking a leadership role on the file. — Stephen Maher | 
