Revealed: winners of Canada’s senior public service awards

By on 26/04/2016 | Updated on 24/09/2020
The Awards are in an annual competition organised by the Association of Professional Executives (APEX).

The winners of this year’s senior public service awards of excellence in Canada have been revealed today.

High-ranking public servants have been recognised for their management skills in four categories, including leadership, innovation and partnership, in an annual competition organised by the Association of Professional Executives (APEX).

Deputy assistant commissioner at the Canada Revenue Agency, Dan Couture, won the leadership award, which recognises a leader who has done an extraordinary job of “leading a group of people through a definable initiative or a difficult period or transition, or providing exemplary service – either directly to the public, or indirectly within the public service – by demonstrating exceptional talent and extraordinary leadership of people,” according to APEX.

The career contribution award, which recognises a senior official who has brought recognition to the public service or to their department or agency over a federal public service career spanning at least ten years, went to Norm Sheridan, executive director, Greater Toronto Area, Canada Border Services Agency.

The healthy workplace award went to Jennifer Hollington, director-general (DG) at Natural Resources Canada, who implemented a number of initiatives, which have improved employee health and increased productivity, while the innovative team award went to the Implementation Committee at Employment and Social Development Canada for their work on an Integrated Framework on Mental Health in the Workplace.

Ezio DiMillo, a DG at Public Services and Procurement Canada – the department responsible for the government’s internal servicing and administration, received the partnership awards, which recognises public servants who have actively engaged in, promoted and enabled partnership initiatives with other government agencies.

APEX CEO Michel G. Vermette said he was “thrilled by the number and quality of nominations submitted, [which] made our task [of choosing winners] harder.”

Nominations for the awards, which date back to 1990, were submitted to APEX by fellow public servants.

Winners will receive their awards at this year’s Symposium gala – an annual APEX conference – on the evening of May 31, after a keynote speech by Treasury Board president Scott Brison.

The symposium, this year focused around the theme of ‘Leadership Action for Excellence, Innovation and Health’ with a big focus to be on mental health, will take place in Ottawa from 31 May until 1 June, at $1,400 for APEX members.

APEX, which operates as a non-profit organisation independent from government, hopes to have around 10% of public service executives at this year’s symposium, which will feature speeches by a range of experts.

Attendance fees for public servants are paid for by their respective departments. Click here for more information.

For up to date government news and international best practice follow us on Twitter @globegov

See also:

Coleen Volk, Government of Canada: Exclusive Interview

Government of Canada pledges creation of new central ‘results and delivery unit’

Janice Charette praises public servants’ ‘professionalism and dedication’

John Forster, Chief of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada: Exclusive Interview

Richard Fadden Canada’s top national security adviser retires from public service

Creating a truly ‘civil’ service

Looking after number one: prioritisation in government

Managing the EU Migration Crisis

 

About Winnie Agbonlahor

Winnie is news editor of Global Government Forum. She previously reported for Civil Service World - the trade magazine for senior UK government officials. Originally from Germany, Winnie first came to the UK in 2006 to study a BA in Journalism & Russian at the University of Sheffield. She is bilingual in English and German, and, after spending an academic year abroad in Russia and reporting for the Moscow Times, Winnie also speaks Russian fluently.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *