PREMIER RECOGNIZES LOWER MAINLAND PUBLIC SERVANTS

VANCOUVER – The Lower Mainland’s exceptional B.C. public service employees were the focus of a ceremony this evening hosted by Premier Gordon Campbell, where the recipients of regional Premier’s Innovation and Excellence Awards acknowledging their creativity and dedication were announced.

“The Premier’s Awards are an annual opportunity to publicly recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of the men and women who have chosen public service as their career,” said Premier Campbell, while attending the second of four regional awards events. “The 2009 recipients have continued the legacy of excellence with their achievements, confirming that our BC Public Service is second-to-none.”

This year, employees from the Lower Mainland region received awards in the Innovation, Legacy, Service Excellence, Cross-Government Integration and Partnership categories for a total of eight gold, three silver, two bronze awards and five honourable mentions.

“The winners and finalists of these awards shine a spotlight on the exceptional work B.C. public service employees do every day,” said Murray Coell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. “Recognizing excellence is one of the trademarks of an organization people want to be a part of, and these awards are one reason why the BC Public Service is becoming known as an employer of choice.”

The ministries of Attorney General; Housing and Social Development; Labour and Citizens’ Services; and Public Safety and Solicitor General received a gold award for their work in establishing Canada’s first community court in Vancouver. This model of criminal justice directs offenders to services that meet their need for housing, income assistance, addiction treatment or mental health care and reduces the likelihood they will re-offend. This approach starts them on their personal road to a brighter future, helping to make B.C. communities safer for everyone.

Dr. Lee Cohene with the Ministry of Children and Family Development received a gold award for his legacy of excellence over a 30-year span in the field of child and youth mental health services. And Linda Cavanaugh with the Ministry of Housing and Social Development was recognized with a gold award for her leadership in improving service delivery to people living in the downtown east side and the morale of staff who provide service to them. The independent power project transition team, the healthy workplace specialist teams, the tobacco detection dog project and the Mt. Lehman interchange project were also gold award recipients.

The annual awards represent the BC Public Service’s pinnacle recognition event to highlight and acknowledge Cross-Government Integration, Innovation, Leadership, Legacy, Organizational Excellence, Partnership and Service Excellence across the province.

Similar events are held to honour Vancouver Island, Northern and Interior employees, with the final event being a provincial award ceremony.

The BC Public Service is the province’s largest corporate employer and was recently selected as one of the top 50 employers in B.C. for 2009. To learn more about the opportunities available in the BC Public Service visit http://employment.gov.bc.ca/ online.

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1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:	Bridgitte Anderson Press Secretary Office of the Premier 604 307-7177	Craig MacBride Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development 250 356-7882

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