The Citadelle, Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Good morning and welcome all of you to this very special presentation of Canadian honours.

It’s wonderful to be here at the Citadelle. There’s so much history in this place, so today let’s make some more, shall we?

You may be wondering why I say this is a special presentation. It’s quite simple: this morning we are in very good company. In fact, these are some of the finest men and women you’re likely to meet. We’re honouring some of Canada’s very best!

And this afternoon, we’ll be honouring more outstanding Canadians. We have a busy day ahead.

Today, we recognize hard-working police officers; brave Canadians; military personnel and civilians; experts on Canada’s North; and generous volunteers.

All of you are great Canadians, making this a better country, one day at a time, one remarkable act at a time.

Canadians join me in saying thank you for your compassion, for your excellence, for your sacrifices.

The Order of Merit of the Police Forces, the Decorations for Bravery, the Meritorious Service Decorations, the Polar Medal and the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers all share a dual purpose:

To honour those who inspire us.

And to encourage more people to follow in your footsteps.

These honours—but more importantly, your actions—inspire others to get involved in their communities.

What you’ve done has a remarkable side effect, as when a drop of dye is added to a glass of water.

The effect is transformative.

Your actions encourage us to strive for greater things and to pursue excellence.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to put out a call for nominations. None of these honours were presented by accident: each is the result of a nomination process begun by those who know our recipients best, and who know how worthy they are of recognition.

So I ask: who inspires you in your communities? Honour them, and help us celebrate and encourage those who seek to make a difference.

To our recipients, congratulations, and thank you for everything you do for your communities and for Canada.