Rideau Hall, Wednesday, September 16, 2015

This is a great day for the public service of Canada.

I’m so pleased to have this chance to say thank you, on behalf of all Canadians, for what you have achieved.

And not just what you have achieved, but how and why you’ve done so.

After all, I’ll be presenting awards of excellence this morning in a total of 14 different categories.

I’ve read about your successes, and one thing that I find striking is the incredible variety of work you do.

The list is very long!  

This breadth of activity is a testament to the importance of the public service of Canada, how it reaches right across the country and touches so many aspects of Canadians’ lives and society.

You work in vastly different fields, but what unites you is how you go about it, as well as why you do.

Together, you and your colleagues in the public service embody our values as Canadians.

Respect for democracy.

Respect for people.

Integrity.

Stewardship.

Excellence.

These are the enduring values of Canada, and each of you has admirably met and upheld these values.

But what really distinguishes your work is how you have exceeded yourselves as public servants.

You innovate.

You collaborate.

You deliver outstanding results.

Let me ask you a question.

What drives you?

I could hazard a guess that, in addition to your desire to serve your country, you’re driven by curiosity, by a desire to push personal and professional boundaries, to help people here at home and around the world.

Who knows, maybe you were even driven by the prospect of fame and glory!

Because why not? We need a little more of that kind of ambition in this country. 

I’d like to know what motivates you to succeed, because Canada truly does need more of your kind of energy and drive.

In times of change, perhaps the greatest risk we face is complacency. This is true whether we’re talking about a small group, a large organization or an entire country.

And there is no doubt: we live in a time of rapid and profound change, to such an extent that sometimes we can feel overwhelmed, or become complacent with the status quo.

As you well know, change is having a major impact on government and public services, just as it’s impacting many other aspects of our lives and society.

That’s why your leadership is so important.

Over the years, Canadians have built one of the world’s very best and most respected systems of governance. We have very high expectations of our public services, and rightly so. We place a lot of trust in our public servants.

It’s imperative that we constantly work to retain that trust, and that we meet and exceed those high expectations.

And the best way to do that is to achieve excellence, such as each of you has done.

As the saying goes:

If not us, who? If not now, when?

Each of you has answered the call to service and succeeded in truly impressive ways. And for that, I thank you on behalf of all Canadians.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honour.