RECONCILING DUALITY AND DIVERSITY/ DUALITÉ ET DIVERSITÉ SONT-ELLES CONCILIABLES?

I wish to thank the University of Alberta for the honorary degree which it has generously conferred upon me today. I accept with joy this high distinction because I assume that beyond my modest person you have wished, Madam Chancellor, to express your attachment to the linguistic duality of our country and to the unique role which history has devolved upon Québec in this respect. I also accept it with humility for I am well aware that the only degrees which count in life are those which accrue to deserving students following prolonged years of arduous study.