LANDMARK, Man. – On this June morning, children at two rural Manitoba schools wanted the lieutenant-governor to explain to them the following things about Manitoba’s and Canada’s system of constitutional government: Has he met the Queen?
How old is she?
How old is he?
How big is his house?
How big is the Queen’s house?
What kind of car does he have?
These and dozens of other questions he faced might not have been the most probing about the role of the lieutenant-governor in Canada’s system of constitutional monarchy, but they allowed Peter Liba, who ended his term on June 30, to introduce schoolchildren to some basic concepts about government.
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The visits to schools in Landmark and Blumenort allowed him to continue his five year and four month long odyssey across Manitoba extolling the virtues of reading and writing.
After taking office, Liba, the former chief executive officer of Can-West Global Communications, visited hundreds of schools across the province where, as on this day, he would read stories to the children and then answer their questions.
“The one great equalizer in society is education,” said Liba in an interview in Landmark.
“It’s critically important for all of our children, regardless of where they come from, to have the opportunity to succeed in life.”
At the first stop, with a collection of Grade 1 and 2 students, Liba kept the children engaged with his well-practiced routine, often making them laugh and bamboozling them with his answer to the how-old-are-you question.
After finding out the questioner was seven years old, he said, “I’m nine times your age plus one.” That kept some young brows furrowed for a few minutes.
Liba said he hasn’t noticed too many differences between urban and rural kids, but “sometimes I find the children in rural areas a little more polite.”
Liba was the first Ukrainian-Manitoban to hold the lieutenant-governor’s position. His successor, former Liberal member of Parliament John Harvard, has Icelandic roots.
Liba hopes his focus on education during his term will increase peoples’ appreciation for literacy.
“A mind once stretched by a new idea never returns to its original size,” said Liba.
