The Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada 2002

[ Backgrounder ]

October 2, 2002

OTTAWA – Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, and the Honourable John Manley, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, will today present the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada to three senior public service employees.

This year's recipients are William MacDonald Evans, Past President of the Canadian Space Agency, Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi O.C., Chief Statistician of Canada, Statistics Canada, and Konrad von Finckenstein Q.C., Commissioner of Competition, Competition Bureau, Industry Canada.

"I am particularly proud given that I had the privilege of working with these three distinguished public servants and can attest to their commitment and excellence," said Minister Manley. "They have demonstrated a commitment to leadership, innovation and creative thinking. As we work to ensure the public service recruits and retains the best and brightest among our young people, we look to today's award winners for inspiration."

The Government of Canada introduced the Outstanding Achievement Award in 1966. It is the highest honour in the Public Service of Canada. A committee of distinguished Canadians appointed by the Prime Minister selects recipients. A maximum of five awards may be presented each year. Recipients receive a framed certificate, gold pin and a Canadian work of art to a maximum value of $5,000. The Outstanding Achievement Award is one of three public service-wide award programs administered by the Treasury Board Secretariat. Other programs include the Head of the Public Service Award and the Award of Excellence.

More details about the Outstanding Achievement Award 2002 recipients are available at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hr-rh/.

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For more information, contact:

Dan Kingsbury
Media Relations
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
(613) 957-2391

Lucie Brosseau or Melanie Kwong
Rideau Hall Media Office
(613) 998-0287 / (613) 993-8157

Media contact for William MacDonald Evans:
Ruth-Anne Chicoine
Canadian Space Agency
(450) 926-4451

Media contact for Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi:
Peter Frayne
Statistics Canada
(613) 951-1199

Media contact for Konrad von Finckenstein:
Sally Southey
Industry Canada
(613) 994-4994

IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.

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Backgrounder

The Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada 2002 – Recipients

William MacDonald Evans – Canadian Space Agency

Mr. Evans is best known as the founder of the Canadian Space Agency. His dedication has made it a model of success that is emulated by other space programs around the world. Mr. Evans began his career in space technology in 1967 when he joined the Defence Research Telecommunications Establishment to help develop new communications systems. He was later appointed Mission Director for the HERMES satellite project for the Department of Communications, then went on to craft policies and procedures aimed at developing Canada's space industry. With the creation of the Canadian Space Agency in 1989, Mr. Evans was appointed Vice-President of Operations. He served as President from 1994 until his retirement in 2001. In 2001, Mr. Evans received NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal in recognition of exceptional efforts in support of American and Canadian co-operation in space.

Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi, O.C. – Statistics Canada

Throughout his 45-year career, Dr. Fellegi has transformed Statistics Canada from a simple data collection agency to an organization that sheds light on Canada's most pressing current social issues. Dr. Fellegi joined Statistics Canada as a statistician in 1957. Other than a brief departure in 1979 to second U.S. President Jimmy Carter's Commission on the Reorganization of the U.S. Statistical System, his entire service has been with Statistics Canada. He was appointed Chief Statistician of Canada in 1985, a position he still holds. Dr. Fellegi's human resources strategy of recruiting, training and promoting highly trained people has been adopted throughout the Public Service of Canada. Dr. Fellegi holds a doctorate in Statistics from Carleton University and has been awarded honorary doctorates from five other Canadian universities. In 1992, he was received as a Member of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Officer in 1999.

Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C. – Industry Canada

Mr. von Finckenstein's dedication and strong sense of innovation and leadership have helped raise the profile of Canada's Competition Bureau and have paved the way for it to become a truly global organization. Mr. von Finckenstein began his public service career in 1973 when he joined the Department of Justice as a legal advisor. By 1986, he was Senior General Counsel of the Trade Negotiations Office and, as chair of the Canadian dispute settlement committee, played a key role in developing a workable dispute settlement mechanism in the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. After holding various Assistant Deputy Minister positions at the departments of External Affairs and Justice, he was appointed Commissioner of Competition in 1997. Since then, Mr. von Finckenstein has led a reorganization of the Competition Bureau, strengthening the organization, improving its public image and revising the Competition Act to bring it in line with new business realities. Mr. von Finckenstein was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1984.