A society like Canada's, with its four centuries of give-and-take, compromise and acceptance, wrong-doing and redress, is basically a forgiving society.
– Adrienne Clarkson
At our best, we are in constant search of something beyond, of national dreams and destinies that we reach toward, together.
– Adrienne Clarkson
Canada is known and honoured as a steadfast and skilful advocate for international collaboration, reconciliation, and the promotion of peace.
– Adrienne Clarkson
Each of us is carving a stone, erecting a column, or cutting a piece of stained glass in the construction of something much bigger than ourselves.
– Adrienne Clarkson
Knowing better than anyone my own shortcomings, I undertake this task with humility and ask you all, as Canadians, to help me.
– Adrienne Clarkson
Our horizon is the creation of a noble society to which, like the medieval builder of those glorious cathedrals, you will have added your conception, your artful piece of stone.
– Adrienne Clarkson
Sometimes we read or hear too much news that makes us fearful or suspicious of others. We can forget that most of the people that we know, or at least encounter regularly, are decent and friendly.
– Adrienne Clarkson
Stumbling through darkness and racing through light, we have persisted in the creation of a Canadian civilization.
– Adrienne Clarkson
To be complex does not mean to be fragmented. This is the paradox and the genius of our Canadian civilization.