This has become abundantly clear to me as, in the six months since I became Governor General, I have travelled to all parts of our country. Although this is my first official visit to Saskatchewan, it is not the first time I have explored your province. And, each time I come, I am taken by the exceptional natural beauty of this part of the country. The very scale, the hugeness of simple forms, emphasizes stability. It is not hills and mountains which we should call eternal.
Eternity is a plain.
More than a century ago, the first settlers came here, when the rail line from Regina to Prince Albert was laid. And these pioneers translated the feeling the landscape gave them into a sense of possibility and hope for themselves, and those who followed. It's easy to see why people put down roots here on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. From this natural base, a modern city has arisen. From it came my predecessor, the Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn a man who has devoted his life to the service of Saskatchewan and of Canada.