Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every day our employees deliver critical programs and services to the residents of the Northwest Territories. The Premier’s Awards recognize this outstanding service and celebrate the extraordinary achievements of those employees who demonstrate excellence and innovation in meeting the objectives of work as a government.
Earlier today I was pleased to present the 2011 Premier’s Awards to 36 such dedicated public servants and 20 external collaborative partners.
Three team awards were presented in the 2011 season recognizing:
the creation of the Good Building Practice for Northern Facilities 2009 guidebook;
the in-house development of a system that collects and disseminates weather products critical in calculating wild land fire danger; and
the use of Aboriginal standards of practice and traditional values for prevention and early intervention on social issues.
The Premier’s Collaboration Awards recognize the work of teams made of GNWT and non-GNWT employees who work together to enhance government programs or services. Collaboration Awards for 2011 were presented for:
the use of environmentally sustainable technology that blends traditional and western science knowledge;
work on our government’s multi-year intervention at the National Energy Board hearings on the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project; and
development of the Northern Voices, Northern Waters - NWT Water Stewardship Strategy.
An individual Premier’s Award for Excellence was presented to Mr. Benoit Boutin for his work on the implementation of communications and services in the French language.
This year a new individual award was introduced in honour of the late Dave Ramsden, a long-time GNWT employee, former deputy minister and secretary to Cabinet. This award recognizes an individual with a demonstrated history of commitment to excellence and public service over the course of their career.
The 2011 Dave Ramsden Career Excellence Award was presented to Mr. Sukhdev Cheema. During Mr. Cheema’s nearly 30-year career with the government, he has guided building design decisions on major infrastructure projects throughout the North, promoted and demonstrated sound energy management practices, and played an instrumental role in bringing northern building science and technology issues to the international level.
Each Premier’s Award recipient today received a plaque featuring porcupine quillwork on birch bark from artisans from the Fort Liard area. The Dave Ramsden Award features original artwork by Jennifer Walden.
Encouraging innovation among our public servants is one of the priorities this Assembly identified to help pursue its goal of effective and efficient government. The leadership, cross-agency collaboration and innovative ideas demonstrated by the recipients of this year’s Premier’s Awards and their working partners is a model for us all and has resulted in enhanced productivity and improved services.
I invite the Assembly to join me in congratulating award recipients and extending our appreciation to all members of the public service for their professionalism, resourcefulness and hard work.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.
