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2006 Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombudsman Commendation Ceremony

Transcript of the Award Ceremony held on Parliament Hill on June 7, 2006

Gaston Boisvert: Good afternoon to all invited guests. I would like to welcome you to the 2006 Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombudsman Commendation Ceremony. My name is Gaston Boisvert. I’m an investigator with the Office of the Ombudsman and I will be serving as master of ceremonies this afternoon. It is a real pleasure to have all of you here with us today to celebrate six individuals who have made such tremendous contributions to the defence community.

Good afternoon, I would like to welcome you to the 2006 Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombudsman Commendation Ceremony. My name is Gaston Boisvert. I’m an investigator with the Office of the Ombudsman, and I have the honour of serving as master of ceremonies this afternoon.

We are extremely pleased at the number of people who have come here to mark the enormous contribution of six people to the well-being of the Defence community. Before introducing you to the recipients, I would like to introduce some very important guests. We would like to acknowledge and to thank Mr. Hiebert, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of National Defense for joining us today. We would also like to thank the senators and the members of Parliament who have taken the time to be here with us this afternoon.

As parliamentarians, we know that you have very busy schedules. So your presence here today underscores the importance of these awards and the positive contribution that our recipients have made to the department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces. We would like to recognize and to sincerely thank Lieutenant-General Leslie who is here today on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff and the many other senior military leaders and civilian managers who have joined us this afternoon. This includes Mr. Keith Hillier who has joined us from Veterans Affairs Canada to help us recognize the extraordinary efforts of a public servant from that organization.

We would also like to acknowledge the members of the Ombudsman’s advisory committee represented here today by the committee chair, Lieutenant-General (ret’d) Michael Caines. Mr. Caines along with the other members of the advisory committee had the difficult task of helping to select this year’s recipients of the Commendation for Ethics. Finally, we would also like to welcome the family members, friends and coworkers of today’s awards recipients. We are very pleased that you were able to attend with us and join us in this important ceremony.

Following the ceremony, Lieutenant-General Leslie and Mr Hiebert have kindly agreed to say a few words. Before introducing Mr. Côté and inviting him to take the floor, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce a very special guest. Before introducing Mr. Côté and inviting him to take over from this point, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce a very special guest, the Dominion sculptress of the Canadian Parliament from 1960 to 1993, Mrs. Eleanor Milne, who was responsible for much of the decorations, the sculptures, the stained glass in this room as in others to join us and we are honored and touched by her presence. Welcome, madame.

And so, without further ado, I will hand things over to the Ombudsman, Mr Yves Côté, who will start the proceedings.

Yves Côté: Thank you very much, Gaston, for those words of introduction. Mr Hiebert, Senators, Members of Parliament, General Leslie, General Caines, Mr Hillier, Canadian Forces members, National Defence and Veterans Affairs employees, special guests and, in particular, award recipients, it is a great privilege for me to be here today to celebrate excellence in the Canadian Forces of the Department of National Defence and within a department that works very closely with military families…I refer of course to Veterans Affairs Canada.

As the Ombudsman, I can tell you that I feel extremely privileged that I have the chance to work with my team in implementing important, positive and lasting changes for the men and women of the Defence community, who give so generously of themselves in the service of Canada and Canadians.

Since becoming ombudsman, just over 10 months ago now, I have had the privilege of traveling quite a bit, in fact to more than 15 bases and wings and other defence facilities across the country and I had the occasion then of mee4ting with the men and women of the Canadian Forces, civilian employees of the department and their families.

I can’t tell you how much I admire them. I am deeply impressed by the Canadian defence community, by the skill and determination of our service men and women, by the enormous commitment and professionalism of our public servants and by the pride, courage and moral strength of the families of our CF members. Their contribution to our country and our fellow citizens is simply remarkable, and I would like here to recognize the remarkable efforts they are making and to thank them.

I would also like to — and this is important for me, I would also like to take a moment to thank senior leadership, both military and civilian in the department and in the CF for the support that they have provided to me and to our office. They have been receptive to change and most importantly, it is clear, it is clear that they care about the welfare of their people and actively support the work that this office does.

This is the fifth year that the Ombudsman’s Commendations are being awarded to individuals that had a significant impact on the defence community but it is my first opportunity as Ombudsman to present those awards and I must say that it is an honor to be able to recognize the six people seated in front of you today for all the outstanding work that they have done and performed.

But before we begin the presentation of the awards this afternoon, I would like to take a moment to recognize a former very dear friend and colleague whom we miss very much today. Liz Hoffman was an investigator with our office, whose deeply rooted sense of fairness and social justice led her to a career as ombudsperson with several academic institutions over the years and to be also a founding member of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman. Liz was a tremendous force for positive change for the men and women of the CF and the civilian employees of the department. In her time with the office, and I only caught the last few months of that, but in her whole time with the office, Liz worked tirelessly to help ensure fair and equitable treatment for hundreds and hundreds of members of the defence community. She was a role model and an inspiration for all of us.

Sadly in January of this year, Liz lost her long battle with cancer. In honor of Liz who dedicated her life to the ideals espoused by our office, we felt it was only fitting that we rename our Commendation for Complaint Resolution in her honor. From this point forward, the award will be known as the Liz Hoffman Memorial Commendation for Complaint Resolution.

On that note, it gives me tremendous pleasure to introduce a very special guest here today, Miss Audrey Nutter, who is Liz Hoffman’s mother and she has travelled here from Winnipeg to join us today and help us honor her great daughter, Liz. Mrs. Nutter, I cannot tell you how much Liz meant to us in our office. It was truly a privilege to work with her every day. Thank you so much for being here today. It means a great deal to our office and it means a great deal to me. At this time, Mrs. Nutter, I would like you to come forward and assist me in handing out the awards now named after your daughter. So please if you would.

Our first recipient this afternoon is Colonel Denis Guérin, who is being awarded the Assistant Deputy Minister’s Commendation for Complaint Resolution. As part of his duties as a special human resources advisor with the Assistant Deputy Minister, Colonel Guérin displayed outstanding commitment to the issue of equity and showed profound respect for the welfare of serving and former members of the Canadian Forces.

Determined to address the very real problem of injustice, Colonel Guérin focused his efforts on the concept of leadership, pushing forward innovative solutions aimed at resolving a number of specific personnel issues that other people, for one reason or another, had failed to address. Thanks to Colonel Guérin’s compassion and dedication, a number of serving and former members of the Canadian Forces were finally accorded the respect and fair treatment they deserved.

Colonel Guérin, could you please come forward? And could you say a few words?

Denys Guérin: Thank you, Mr Côté, for this honour, which I truly did not expect to receive. It’s really an honour for me. One of my responsibilities as special assistant to the Assistant Deputy Minister of military personnel when I was there six months ago, was to try to facilitate the resolution of people issues, not an easy thing to do in the best of times, but made even more difficult when years have passed, decisions were made in the past or events happened in the past. It is not always easy. We are sometimes hesitant to try to second-guess a decision that was made presumably in good faith a number of years ago, and we are also hesitant sometimes to want to try to apply today’s standards to something that happened in the past and that is a bit of an impediment here to try and resolve some problems.

But I found in a number of cases the individuals were not necessarily after a million dollars. They were really there, what they wanted was to be heard by somebody and to be able to turn the page and move on in their life and to retire with dignity after having served the Canadian Forces. With the help of the ultimate dispute resolution folks, the compensation benefits folks and a whole bunch of other people, we were actually able to do that in a couple of cases. Regrettably I wasn’t able to solve as many problems as I wished we would have and I’m looking at - there is one in particular that we have been at for sometime, but I’m quite confident that my successor is equally committed to work with the ombudsman’s office, a very professional team and as I have learned, a very determined bunch of investigators and I’m quite confident that we are going to resolve many many more issues. So thanks very much. Thank you so much. It’s a great honour for me.

Yves Côté: Thank you very much, Colonel Guérin. At this time, we could maybe take a break -- to recognize the fact that Rear-Admiral Pile, the Chief of Military Personnel has now joined us. So Rear- Admiral, welcome to you.

Let’s go now to the second recipient. Through his determined efforts and commitments to fairness, our next recipient made a real and positive change in the lives of nearly 150 Canadian Forces members deployed abroad as part of the international campaign against terrorism. When he was informed of a significant inequity relating to the -- to special clothing allowances for electronic, mechanical and engineering section technicians deployed at Camp Mirage, Commander Frank Vandervoort demonstrated exemplary leadership in pursuing a timely innovative and fair solution for all of those Canadian forces members involved. For his extraordinary service, Commander Vandervoort is awarded the commendation for complaint resolution. Commander Vandervoort, if you would please join us here.

Frank Vandervoort: Colonel Guérin is a hard act to follow and he is probably one of the ones that was pushing us along when we did try to resolve some of the issues within a very archaic legal framework under which we must operate. These awards aren’t just for the person up here. We in compensation and benefits have a great team there. They are all motivated to do the right thing for service members who are deployed and indeed serving in Canada. We should never lose sight of the fact what they do, what they are doing rather while we are sitting back here generating policy. I would like to recognize that this is a team award. I’m accepting it on behalf of the director of the pay policy development and specifically Chief Petty Officer Montpetit, Major GM. Naud and the rest of the team who try to do the things in the right way on a daily basis. Also Admiral Pile and his predecessor, Admiral Jarvis, for allowing us the time to resolve these things when the easy way is to say no. It takes a lot longer time to say yes. Thank you very much.

Yves Côté: And now we are going to do a first. We are breaking new grounds. The fourth recipient of the Commendation for Complaint Resolution comes to us from Veterans Affairs Canada and has travelled all the way from Charlottetown to be here with us today. Through his truly extraordinary dedication and compassion, Mr. John Wickett has provided invaluable assistance to countless Canadian veterans and former Canadian Forces members in need. Always going well beyond what was asked or expected of him, Mr. Wickett has helped to correct real injustices and inequities at both the individual and the broader systemic level. Most notably, Mr. Wickett was instrumental in the successful implementation of the chemical warfare agent testing program and in helping former soldiers and their families come to terms with a difficult period in Canada’s history. Those of you who are familiar with this will know how big of an issue, how big of a problem it was and thanks to in particular Mr. Wickett’s contribution, this file was resolved in the way that is dignified and fair to all concerned. Mr. Wickett, would you please join us.

John Wickett: No commendation such as this would be possible without a lot of cooperation between individuals. In that vein, I would like to thank James Olifors and Jennifer Faust at Suffield who not only opened up the libraries for me but showed me and actually exploded a mustard gas bomb for me. You know, it was to see first hand what was going on and I think probably some of the biggest thanks have to go to some of the mustard gas veterans such as Bill Tanner who couldn’t be here due to a death in the family, who actually relived the painful memories that they went through in order to educate me so I could educate people in our department. Much of the work at Veterans Affairs involved the compilation of numerous lists and, in this regard, I have to thank my assistant Helena Gauthier for her excellent work. Once we knew about it in our department, we responded very quickly to do what we could for these veterans and their spouses. Ladies and gentlement, I would like to thank you all.

Yves Côté: And at this point, I would like to thank Keith Hillier, assistant deputy minister at Veterans Affairs for being with us today because I think it was important for us that somebody with your position be with us. So thank you very much, Keith, for being with us.

Now we move to our commendations for ethics. At this time, I would like to ask Mr. Michael Caines, chair of the advisory committee to come forward and to assist me with the presentation of the awards. Our first recipient for this commendation is a civilian employee of the Department of National Defence. Strong in her convictions and her dedication, Marie Joannisse has accomplished much in promoting integrity, fairness and openness in resources management within the civilian human resources group of the Department of National Defence.

On her own initiative, Madame Joannisse was able to define a common set of recognized and implemented values and principles that gave direction to and facilitated effective decision making and the assumption of decision-making authority by civilian human resources managers. Thanks to her tireless efforts, Madame Joannisse — pardon me, thanks to the tireless efforts of Madame Joannisse, resource managers at all levels are now more aware of their decision-making responsabilities in the area of resources management. So Madame Joannisse, if you could come up here please.

Marie Joannisse: Hello, everyone. I would like first of all to thank Mr Côté and his entire selection team, who have done an excellent job…particularly Michelle Laliberté, who answered all my questions. I must say that I was very surprised to learn from my supervisor, Lieutenant-Colonel Cheryl Walton-Simm, that I had been nominated for this honour. And what joy and pride I felt in receiving the letter informing me that I had been chosen by the selection team.

It’s not easy, to work as we do on the policy side of things and then try to make managers at all levels understand that we are working for them, but we managed to prevail and I am proud of the work we accomplished. To conclude, I would like to say that I’m proud to work in the extended comptroller’s office and I’m so proud to work with the human resources civilian people. Thank you very much.

Yves Côté: Thank you very much, Madame Joannisse. As a senior combat information operator instructor and section Chief Petty Officer at Canadian Forces Fleet School Esquimalt, Chief Petty Officer Second Class Rick Martin served as an inspirational leader who routinely handled challenging personal issues with sensitivity and with the utmost professionalism. Through his personal intervention in a number of complex cases, Chief Martin made a real and positive difference in the lives of countless members of the Canadian Forces. Chief Martin’s very high standards for personal integrity dedication and selfless devotion have set an exceptional standard across the organization. It is for these reasons and many more indeed that we present Chief Petty Officer Martin with the Commendation for Ethics.

Rick Martin: Good day, mesdames et messieurs. I would like to say that it is an absolute privilege to be here in the company of so many distinguished guests and honorees. I would like to thank Mr. Côté and his staff for finding me worthy of this commendation. I take great pride in ethics and to receive the ethics commendation for me is a great honor.

I would like to thank Commander Catsberg and Chief Petty Officer Molger, Canadian Forces Fleet School for nominating me for this commendation. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues up at combat information section at Canadian Forces Fleet School Esquimalt. Their exceptional performance and dedication to the CF and its mission was reflected in their outstanding work each day. In closing, I would like to tell you that it is a privilege to serve this great nation and be part of the professional arms of Canada which stands for integrity, fairness, openness and most of all to me, duty with honor. Merci beaucoup.

Yves Côté: Thank you very much, Chief Martin. Our final recipient this afternoon is Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) St-Arnaud, whose compassion for the people who work with him, for those around him, has no bounds. Over his 35 years of service with the Canadian Forces, Lieutenant-Colonel St-Arnaud has earned distinction through the professionalism, compassion and benevolence he has always shown to the people under his command.

On numerous occasions, Lieutenant-Colonel St-Arnaud clearly went beyond what was expected of him by giving suppport and encouragement to people who otherwise would have been left to their own devices. In doing so, he earned the lasting respect of people who served with him and, of course, at the same time provided an example, a model to all those who worked for him and around him. So Lieutenant-Colonel St-Arnaud, if you would please come up here.

Jean St-Arnaud: Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlement, Mr Bachand, thank you, it’s an honour for me to be here to receive this award after a satisfying career in the Canadian Forces, and I must say I’m a bit surprised…I didn’t expect this. I would like to say, however, that in an era where we live at a hundred miles an hour, where we write each other by email and where we swap electronic files, it is absolutely imperative that we take the time to sit down and listen to one other. And that is what I always tried to do and what I have always done, particularly with my soldiers…because when I asked them to pay the ultimate sacrifice, they were there and they were loyal, which meant that I had to make sure that I was loyal to them in turn. Thank you so much.

Gaston Boisvert: Thank you, Colonel. Thank you, Mr. Côté, and congratulations to all the award recipients. The record of our next guest is highly impressive. I have been given a highly contracted version of his resumé. This individual has put his enthusiasm, his leadship qualities, to the test by assuming the duties of Director General Strategic Planning, Commander of the Operational Force in Kabul and Deputy Commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He was also appointed Commander of Land Force Central Area and Commander 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in Western Canada. He is currently preparing to take over the reins of Land Force in Canada as the Chief Land Staff. At this time, I would like to ask Lieutenant-General Leslie incoming Chief of the Land Staff, to say a few words.

LGen Andrew Leslie: Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Honoured guests, I am here on behalf of the Chief of the Defence Staff. I offer you his apologies. He is out of Ottawa at this time and normally the Vice-Chief of Defence Staff would be here representing the Canadian Forces. He is otherwise engaged in burying a comrade in arms who was killed in action about ten days ago. It is the funeral service today, right now, of Capt. Nicola Goddard who is actually a member of my regimental family as are we all.

Aux distingués — to the award recipients, the Canadian Forces and the department of National Defense is very proud of you. Like those of your colleagues who support those who go overseas and indeed who have gone overseas, you are part of a larger team and the honor, the compassion, the dedication, the ability to speak truth to power is something that we hold and respect in you dearly.

The Office of the Ombudsman is a vital component of our military institution and now I think we can be a lot prouder of the military system of fairness and justness — and justice has been developed over the years, but of course our military system is not perfect and by golly, there have been some mistakes, So the Ombudsman and his team, as represented by the award recipients are here to help us help the young men and women in uniform, land, sea and air, to solve problems that impact on us all and I think they have done a great job. His success and those of his team are in part reflective of the type and quality of the personnel who are receiving these awards. It is a shared enterprise between the minister, the chain of command, the CDS and of course all the supervisors and contributors.

But things are getting better. Thankfully. In this regard, on behalf of the CDS, I’m pleased to be able to congratulate those who have distinguished themselves in the past year. You have already heard their names read now, just bear with me while I do so, mainly because of the Vice-Chief told me to and we may be the same rank now, but he controls all the money, so I say ‘Yes, Sir’. I wish to commend Colonel Denys Guérin, Commander Frank Vandervoort, Mr. John Wickett on receiving the Liz Hoffman Memorial Commendation. It is absolutely wonderful that you are here representing your daughter, absolutely delightful.

And of course, Miss Marie Joannisse, Chief Petty Officer 2 Rick Martin and Lieutenant Colonel Jean St-Arnaud, we worked together during the Ice Storm as well, I’m pleased to see you again - for the Commendation Ethics. Without a strong ethical core within our forces, we would inevitably fail. Finally I would like to thank the Ombudsman staff once again and the personnel who have organized this very marked celebration which is celebrating people. They represent the best of those who serve. It is only through thorough investigation and impartial attitude and a willingness to help that the ombudsman can help the members of the Canadian Forces and the civilian department. So on behalf o the CDS and everyone else involved, our thanks. Merci beaucoup.

Gaston Boisvert: Thank you, General Leslie for those kind words. Finally this afternoon, I have the pleasure of introducing Mr. Russ Hiebert, the Member of Parliament for the riding of South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale, Parliamentary Secretary to the minister of National Defence and member of the standing committee on National Defence. Mr. Hiebert, the floor is yours.

Russ Hiebert: Members of Parliament and senators, General Leslie, Mr. Côté, award recipients, special guests, ladies and gentlemen, I’m very pleased to be here this afternoon on behalf of Defence Minister, Gordon O’Connor, who on his way to Brussels, to recognize the extraordinary efforts of the six members of our — Canada’s defence community.

The men and women of the Canadian Forces and employees of Veterans Affairs Canada have served Canada and Canadians well. They help to bring security and stability to the people of Afghanistan. They help to protect the skies of North America. They provide critical search and rescue services across the country. They provide invaluable support to our military members and our proud veterans and most importantly, they are there for our Canadians in their time of need.

So I’m delighted to be here, to pass along the government’s sincere appreciation to the members of the defence community and to help honor the recipients of the ombudsman’s commendations for ethics and complaint resolution. After hearing the award presentations a few moments ago, I cannot tell you how impressed I am by the commitment and effort of today’s recipients.

Colonel Guérin, Commander Vandervoort, Mr. Wickett, the award of the Ombudsman’s Commendation for Complaint Resolution is a clear recognition of your outstanding service to the defence community and to Canada. You understand how critical it is for people who are experiencing difficulties to have their concerns heard with compassion and respect, and you can be proud of the real difference that you have made in the lives of countless members of the defence community.

Madame Joannisse, Chief Petty Officer Martin, Lieutenant-Colonel St-Arnaud, the award of Ombudsman’s Commendations for Ethics reflects your strong leadership skills, your high ethical principles and your integrity. You have clearly earned the respect and confidence of your colleagues and your staff. To all the award recipients, your achievements are a true reflection of the high values to which Canada’s defence community strives and I commend you for the leadership and the vision that you have demonstrated in the Canadian Forces, the department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada.

I would like to take a moment to thank the Ombudsman for this commendation program and for recognizing individuals that bring pride to the defence community. It is important that we always take time to reward excellence. I would also like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the excellent work done by the Ombudsman and his staff. Whether it is helping to resolve hundreds of complaints every year or providing substantial recommendations on key issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and operational stress injuries, the office has truly made a real positive and lasting difference for the men and women of the Canadian Forces, the civilian employees of National Defence and their families. Mr. Côté, your work is critical. Your efforts are appreciated and I can assure you that you have the complete support of the government of Canada. We all share the same determination to protect and promote the well-being of the members of our defence community and I personally look forward to working with you to that end.

Once again congratulations to this afternoon’s commendation recipients and to everyone in the Ombudsman’s office. Please keep up the good work.

Gaston Boisvert: Thank you, Mr Hiebert. And thank you ladies and gentlement for attending this ceremony today.

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