Serving Canada: The Outstanding Achievement Awards

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Your Excellency, colleagues from the Parliament of Canada past and present, Senator Marjory LeBreton, The Right Honourable Herbert Gray, honoured recipients, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank Her Excellency for once again hosting this tribute to the outstanding men and women of the Public Service of Canada.

The men and women who choose to embark on a career in the Public Service of Canada do so out of a deep-seated desire to make Canada a better place; to uphold the common good, and to apply the principles of integrity, equity, transparency and respect.

Today we are honouring four individuals who have epitomized the highest values of and exemplified the highest levels of performance in this critical national institution, the Public Service of Canada.

Our first recipient, Louise Branch, is a visionary and an innovator who has transformed Service Canada.

Her Service Management Structural Model has enhanced service excellence and garnered attention throughout the country and around the world.

The next recipient being honoured today is renowned for his scientific expertise and staunch commitment to protecting the health of Canadians.

Dr. Jeffrey Farber, of Health Canada, was among the first to recognize the role of Listeria in human illness, and was instrumental in developing the standard methodology for detecting the bacteria used in Canada and countries around the world.

As Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, our third recipient, Jim Judd, implemented a series of reforms that resulted in the agency being named one of the best employers in the country.

Prior to his service with CSIS, Jim held a number of senior positions within the government including Deputy Minister of Defence and Secretary of the Treasury Board, in which he always demonstrated great personal and professional integrity, as well as a determination to do the right thing.

Our final recipient is a model public servant.  John Sims’s remarkable blend of legal skills, sound judgement and deep understanding of government policy and ethics has won him high honours wherever he has worked.

The Department of Justice has been well served over the years by his solid leadership and his astute legal advice.

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I’d like to congratulate Louise, Jeffrey, Jim and John on receiving this prestigious honour.  They are among an elite group of public servants who have been nominated by their peers and subsequently ranked highest among the best by the Selection Committee.

Louise, Jeffrey, Jim and John exemplify a standard of excellence to which we should all aspire.

And I congratulate the selection committee of Micheline Bouchard, Gary Holden, Kay Stanley, Barbara Stymiest and chairman Denis Desautels for selecting these recipients.

I’d like to conclude today by thanking all members of the Public Service for their hard work over the past year.

A year marked by the global recession, the campaign to immunize the population against the H1N1 flu virus, and our efforts to come to the rescue of the Haitian people.

The Public Service, across a range of departments and agencies, has coordinated and rolled out, in record time and with high levels of success, unprecedented economic measures during the global economic recession.

I can say without reservation the same thing of its action during the H1N1 vaccination campaign.  And, once again, its agility and competency is on display in Canada’s response to the terrible events in Haiti.

No government, of any partisan stripe, can maintain and build a strong, united and secure Canada or conduct an effective government without the assistance of a capable public service devoted to the national interest.

Canada has been exceptionally well served by the thousands of public servants who have dedicated their careers to their country.

So, on behalf of the Government of Canada – and indeed all Canadians –
thank you for your integrity, for your devotion to duty, and for your service to our great country.

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