- The Governor General of Canada
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Gary Allan Mitchell
Victoria, British Columbia
Grant of Arms, Flag and Badge
December 15, 2004
Vol. IV, p. 417
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Blazon
Arms
Gules fretty semé of billets Argent and keys Or;
Crest
A sea otter flotant Argent semé of ermine spots Azure bearing in its forepaws a mascle Gules;
Motto
TO PERSEVERE;
Symbolism
Arms
Red and white are the national colours of Canada and of Poland, the ancestral land of the family of Mr. Mitchell’s mother. The interlaced pattern of white bands is a reference to a gridiron, the traditional symbol for St. Lawrence, patron saint of archives, thus referring to Mr. Mitchell’s position as provincial archivist of British Columbia. The narrow white rectangles symbolize documents and boxes of historic files, underlining the reference to archives. The keys represent two main aspects of archival science, stewardship of historic records and the unlocking of knowledge based on research in such records.
Crest
The sea otter, being used in Canadian heraldry for the first time, is a reference to an important element of the 19th century fur trade centred at the Hudson Bay Company post at Fort Langley, which is very close to Mr. Mitchell’s birthplace. The mascle, or voided lozenge, appears frequently in Scottish coats of arms borne by persons with the surname Mitchell, and thus honours the Scottish heritage of Mr. Mitchell’s father. The use of blue and white for the sea otter alludes to the main colours in the arms of British Columbia, Mr. Mitchell’s home province.
Motto
Not applicable