Waterton team honoured with Public Service Award

123 exceptional public servants were presented with the Public Service Award of Excellence in recognition of their work in the federal public service, in a ceremony held at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building.

Michael Wernick, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, was on hand to present the winners with their medals.

During the presentation, 23 awards were presented to individuals and teams in the following categories: Excellence in Profession; Exceptional Young Public Servants; Exemplary Contribution under Extraordinary Circumstances; The Joan Atkinson Award for Public Sector Values in the Workplace and Outstanding Career.

One of the winners was the Parks Canada and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Kenow Fire Firefighting Team.

This award honours staff of Parks Canada and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry for their exemplary collaboration in managing the Kenow wildfire in 2017.

With the fire threatening public safety and property in Waterton Lakes National Park, the team was assembled under unified command, the park was closed, and visitors and residents were evacuated.

As the fire spread across the park and onto adjacent provincial lands, the team worked tirelessly to protect the Waterton townsite and the park's Prince of Wales Hotel, which would otherwise have been lost. The team demonstrated professionalism, skill and courage in dangerous and uncertain conditions.

Parks Canada

• Sarah Chisholm – Parks Canada;

• Jed Cochrane – Parks Canada;

• Stephen C. Cornelsen – Parks Canada;

• Natalie Fay – Parks Canada;

• Kevin Ferrie – Parks Canada;

• Joseph Fontoura – Parks Canada;

• Hélène Genest – Parks Canada;

• Victor Kafka – Parks Canada;

• Jonathan Large – Parks Canada;

• Dennis Madsen – Parks Canada;

• Rick Moore – Alberta Agriculture and Forestry;

• Scott Murphy – Parks Canada;

• Darren Quinn – Parks Canada;

• John Stoesser – Parks Canada;

• Ifan Thomas – Parks Canada;

• Nominated by Salman Rasheed, Associate Director, Natural Resource Conservation, Parks Canada.

Every day, public servants across the Government of Canada are taking initiative, being innovative, and working to deliver results for Canadians. The recipients of the Public Service Award of Excellence represent some of the best and brightest public servants, all of whom play an important role in helping the government to offer better and more efficient programs and services.

"It is my privilege and honour to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of this year's recipients of the Public Service Award of Excellence. Every day, dedicated public servants work hard to achieve results for Canadians. This award recognizes some of the accomplishments that help make the Public Service of Canada a strong, proud institution that is admired around the world," explained Michael Wernick, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet.

Quick Facts

• A total of 123 recipients were recognized for their work in a variety of areas, which includes tackling wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia; using artificial intelligence to match businesses with relevant government programs and services; reducing the threat of highly toxic substances to border officers; and improving trade outreach and advocacy.

• The complete list of award recipients, as well as the profiles of recipients from the previous two years, are available on the Public Service Award of Excellence web page.

• Recipients are presented with a medal and a congratulatory letter signed by the Clerk. The award is nonmonetary and may be given to an individual or a team.

• Recipients are recommended by a committee through nominations submitted from across the public service, using established criteria for each category.