Honorable Russ Mirasty has been officially installed as Saskatchewan’s Lieutenant Governor.

Mirasty took part in an official ceremony at the Legislative building Thursday afternoon.

The new Lieutenant Governor had the opportunity to give a speech on his priorities for the next five years and included some of his experiences growing up in La Ronge with some health issues, Indigenous upbringing and being sent to Residential School. “In my conclusion I talked about how anybody and everybody can contribute to this great province and country regardless of where you’ve come from and what your background is. Really that was the message, to be able to share something that was personal, but also not to dwell on it and say we can move on from those challenges.”

Mirasty says being the first indigenous Lieutenant Governor in the province is an honour. “I’ve done many different things in my life and achieved many different things. Because of the unique relationship between the Crown and Indigenous people, this is much more meaningful.”

The installment ceremony is the second event Mirasty has been a part of in the position of Lieutenant Governor, previously being in the swearing-in ceremony in July. He says this one meant a lot because it included his family, members of the public, as well as RCMP members he used to serve with. “I mean that’s more than half my life, without giving away my age, but certainly to see them here and a troop made it from BC that I trained with originally and he’s still in the force. To see him here to support us is fantastic.”

Mirasty takes over the position after Thomas Molloy passed away in July.