Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
RECEPTION FOR NEW KING’S COUNSEL
Government House
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
(please check against delivery)
Fellow Manitobans, it is a pleasure to welcome you to Government House for this recognition of professional achievement and community service.
It is my privilege to acknowledge that we are meeting on Treaty One land and in the heartland of the Red River Metis. I acknowledge that the province we love, and that I represent as Lieutenant Governor, is the present-day home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, Dene, Inuit and Red River Metis peoples.
We acknowledge northern Manitoba includes lands that were, and are, the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
Together, we strive to advance understanding, healing and reconciliation and work as partners for a better future.
As Manitobans, we share many common goals and values. We want to build a place of health and safety, fairness and opportunity, equality and diversity.
But there will soon be a million and a half of us, and while we may share many goals and values, we each tend to define them and rank them in our own way.
Only through a system of laws can we hope to find a way of reconciling all those individual visions and interests.
And with the inevitable, increasing complexity created as knowledge expands, technology develops and population grows, that system of laws requires dedicated guides who can help us through the legal thickets.
Each of the Manitoba lawyers being recognized today as King’s Counsel has shown long-term dedication to the practice of law. These 17 lawyers have worked with their clients in all aspects of law – administrative and corporate, family, criminal, Indigenous, immigration and insurance, and virtually every other field.
In addition, they have served the legal profession, they have worked in legal education and they have worked to ensure that Canadians have access to the law.
Beyond that, they have volunteered their very valuable time and expertise with a wide variety of not-for-profit organizations.
In a few days we will celebrate the coronation of King Charles, who has spoken of the value of public service throughout his life. This first celebration of Manitoba King’s Counsel is a fitting way to mark this milestone.
Congratulations to all of Manitoba’s new King’s Counsels on this recognition of careers of excellence and integrity.
Thank you for your service to the law and to Manitobans.
Merci, Meegwich.