[
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
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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.
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