The Citadelle, Wednesday, October 5, 2016

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

It’s wonderful to be here at the Citadelle.

This morning we had the opportunity to celebrate some outstanding Canadians and I’m delighted that we will continue to do so right now.

So who are we here to honour?

We’re recognizing hard-working police officers; brave Canadians; those who have provided a meritorious service to our nation; experts on Canada’s North; and generous volunteers.

You have saved lives and you have changed lives, and you have done so without the expectation of recognition.

All of you are philanthropists in the broadest sense of the word: you share a love for humanity.

And 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.

You represent Canada. You know what we stand for. And you work to create the kind of country we want to live in.

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.

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

They allow us to build networks of caring and creativity across disciplines.

That’s why I’m so delighted to hold this presentation of Canadian honours here at the Citadelle and to fulfill one of my central roles: connecting you with other Canadians.

Speaking of connecting, I’d like to be able to connect more Canadians with our honours. So 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.

Honour those who inspire you in your communities. Help us celebrate and encourage those who seek to make a difference.

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