Rideau Hall, Thursday, January 14, 2016

My wife, Sharon, and I welcome you to Rideau Hall for this celebration of excellence.

Today we have a chance to give our thanks to an individual who has had an outstanding career in public service.

He is, of course, Wayne Wouters, and he’s a most deserving recipient of the Vanier Medal for excellence in public administration.

As you may know, Wayne’s term as clerk of the Privy Council, secretary to the Cabinet and head of the Public Service coincided with the first four years of my tenure as governor general, and I had the enormous privilege of working with him closely.

Wayne was the principal counsellor from the Public Service to the Prime Minister and also to the Governor General. In the words of Walter Bagehot, the governor general is there to counsel, encourage and warn. With Wayne in charge there was never an occasion to warn, but there was lots of encouragement and advice. And it was a two-way street.

In fact, on one subject my encouragement and counsel to Wayne was direct and frank. And that was on the most important of subjects: hockey.

As some of you know, Wayne plays hockey year-round, including on a team with his two sons. So I would regularly end our meetings with this advice:

“Wayne, let the boys do the backchecking, will you?!”

In truth, I probably need not have said that, as one of Wayne’s great strengths as a leader is his recognition of his total dependence on the people who surround him.

He knows when to leave the backchecking or the forechecking to others, when to play defence, when to play offence, when to rag the puck and even, when the clock’s ticking and you’re down, when to pull the goalie! He can also be creative when interpreting advice: for example, I learned from him that the word “backcheck” when translated into Dutch, means something like, “Let’s stop for a few minutes and have a beer!”

In a public service career spanning almost thirty years, Wayne brought out the best in the public servants he worked with. No doubt he would tell you that they brought out the best in him.

Bringing out the best in each other—I think that’s a pretty good definition of how any great 21st century organization should work.

But today’s public service leaders have a special responsibility. In our complex, rapidly changing world, the public sector must constantly innovate and refine its efforts, all while continuing to serve Canadians.

It’s a delicate balance, and an urgent one, and during his time as clerk, Wayne devoted himself to meeting this challenge head-on.

One of his ongoing legacies is Blueprint 2020. It’s an unprecedented exercise in innovation and renewal—one that has engaged tens of thousands of people in imagining our public service of the future.

As the saying goes, one generation plants the trees, and another gets the shade.

Wayne has prepared the way for the generation that follows him. His contributions are far too many for me to list, but I want to thank him for two things in particular that resonate so strongly with this office:

(1) his superb leadership and support of the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign; and

(2) his service on the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada during his years as clerk. 

Wayne truly takes to heart the motto of the Order of Canada: They desire a better country.

His career as a public servant and leader is nothing less than exemplary, and I’m delighted to present him with the Vanier Medal.

In his installation address, General Vanier said, “If Canada is to attain the greatness worthy of it, each of us must say, ‘I ask only to serve.’”

This important concept highlights General Vanier’s view of the leader as servant. And at heart, it’s all about trust. The Public Service of Canada is admired around the world for its quality, its professionalism, the respect it enjoys and consistently renews, and for the trust vested in it by citizens. This is what General Vanier was driving at, and over half-a-century later his words are more apt than ever. Wayne’s leadership exemplifies, in an inspiring way, General Vanier’s encouragement and counsel.

Congratulations, Wayne, on this well-deserved honour, and thank you for all you have done for Canada.