George R D Goulet

Life

Born September 27, 1933 in St. Boniface, Manitoba to George Wilfrid Goulet and Marie Alexina Laura McDougall, a granddaughter of Pierre Delorme, George was the fifth of eight children. He counts amongst his ancestors early French Canadian settlers Louis Hebert, Jean Guyon du Buisson and Zacharie Cloutier in addition to political figure Alexander MacDonell of Greenefield and John Siveright, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company. He is the father of five children including Tag Goulet, Laura de Jonge and Catherine Goulet.

George attended St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba, a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba Law School, and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Toronto. The admissions guide for the University of Toronto lists George as one of four distinguished alumni along with Astronaut Roberta Bondar, Sociologist Daniel G Hill and Simon Cooper, former President and COO of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

George is the author of several historical books including The Trial of Louis Riel: Justice and Mercy Denied; The Metis: Memorable Events and Memorable Personalities; and Louis Hebert and Marie Rollet: Canada's Premier Pioneers (the last two with his wife Terry Goulet as co-author). Together they have spoken at numerous schools, universities, libraries, and public events including at the Manitoba Pavilion during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. In the spring of 2012 they spoke at the Centre of Canadian Studies at the University of Edinburgh and at the British Association of Canadian Studies conference on Sustaining Canada at Murray Edwards College at the University of Cambridge where they gave a talk on the Aboriginal rights of the Métis in relation to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines.

In 2007 George and his wife Terry were commissioned by the Metis Nation of British Columbia to write a book about the history of the Métis people within British Columbia in honour of the BC 150 celebration. The book, The Metis in British Columbia: From Fur Trade Outposts to Colony, was officially released at the Annual General Meeting of the Métis Nation of British Columbia in September 2008. Together they were the Historical Consultants to the BC Metis Federation.

Also in September 2008 George was one of the featured speakers at the commemoration of the Elzéar Goulet Memorial Park in Saint Boniface. George is a great-grand-nephew of the Métis martyr for whom the park was named.

An annual scholarship, the George and Terry Goulet Bursary in Canadian History, was established at the University of Calgary in their honor.

George, along with his wife Terry, is a strong supporter of the exoneration of Louis Riel and has been quoted on his support of the Private member's bill introduced by Pat Martin in the House of Commons. In May 2011 in an article appearing in the National Post, in which Martin argues that Riel was a hero and not a traitor, Martin refers to Goulet's book title in that Riel's execution was "a case of both justice and mercy denied."

In October, 2012 George and his wife Terry spoke before a Standing Committee of the Senate of Canada to examine and report on the legal and political recognition of Métis identity in Canada.