OTTAWA -
Governor General Michaelle Jean begins her first official visit to New Brunswick on Monday with a hectic five-day itinerary that focuses on the military, arts and culture, La Francophonie, fisheries and community life.Jean and her husband Jean Daniel-Lafond will make their first stop at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown for a reception with the families of soldiers deployed to Afghanistan before touring the Beaverbrook Art Gallery later in the evening.
Jean will address the provincial legislature Tuesday after being formally welcomed to the province by Premier Shawn Graham and attend a state dinner hosted by Lt.-Gov. Hermengilde Chiasson.
As she has done on previous provincial tours she will also meet with representatives from various regional networks to discuss the prevention of family violence and violence against women.
The painful topic is becoming a benchmark of her term in office as she endeavours to get people to speak out.
Jean told a London, Ont., audience last week that "violence thrives in silence."
She said she remembered street vendors selling whips on the Haitian streets of her childhood and feeling the pain of the discipline those lashes brought.
Jean said those sorts of practices leave deep scars that teach children violence is the only way to resolve conflict.
The tour will include stops in Fredericton, Caraquet, Bathurst and Shippagan.
