Mary Simon is exceptional, though she’s faced a level of criticism no other Governor General has endured

For everyone who voiced support for Mary Simon, Canada’s first Indigenous and Inuktut-speaking Governor General,  there was an overwhelming chorus eager to attack her ability to serve as governor general for not speaking a colonial language well enough.

They argued that she was unskilled for the position, that her inability to speak French was disrespectful and a violation of federal language laws. Simon’s appointment was based on merit, but reactions to it from some revealed a deep-seated racism about whose languages Canadians value, protect and consider legitimate in public life.