sovereign; the office itself does not independently possess any powers of the royal prerogative. In accordance with the Constitution Act, 1982, any constitutional amendment that affects the Crown, including the office of Governor General, requires the unanimous consent of each provincial legislature as well as the Parliament of Canada. The 30th and current governor general is Mary Simon, who was sworn in on 26 July 2021. An Inuk leader from Nunavik in Quebec, Simon is the first Indigenous person to hold the office. She was nominated on 6 July 2021 to replace Julie Payette, who had resigned in January; Richard Wagner, the chief justice of Canada, had served as Administrator of the Government of Canada in the interim. Spelling of the title The letters patent constituting the office, and official publications of the Government of Canada, spell the title governor general, without a hyphen, unlike the spelling of the title in the other Commonwealth realms, which do include a hyphen as part of their titles. The hyphenated form, 'Governor-General of Canada', is sometimes used unofficially. As governor is the noun in the title, it is pluralized thus, governors general, rather than governor generals. Appointment The position of governor general is mandated by both the Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly known as the British North America Act, 1867), and the letters patent issued in 1947 by King George VI. As such, on the recommendation of the Canadian prime minister, the Canadian monarch appoints the governor general by commission issued under the royal sign-manual and Great Seal of Canada. That individual is, from then until being sworn in, referred to as the governor general-designate. Besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor general-designate. Though there may therefore be variations to the following, the appointee will generally travel to Ottawa, there receiving an official welcome and taking up residence at 7 Rideau Gate, and will begin preparations for their upcoming role, meeting with various high-level officials to ensure a smooth transition between governors general. The sovereign will also hold an audience with the appointee and will at that time induct both the governor general-designate and their spouse into the Order of Canada as Companions, as well as appointing the former as a Commander of both the Order of Military Merit and the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (should either person not