Ottawa, May 3, 2005
Presentation of the Leon Leadership Award
Notes for an address
Dyane Adam – Commissioner of Official Languages
Check against delivery
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to be with you this morning to present the Leon Leadership Award 2004–2005. For four years now, the Office of the Commissioner has presented the Leon Award to a deputy minister or agency head who has shown outstanding leadership and taken steps to build an organizational culture that promotes linguistic duality.
In the current context of multiple pressures on our public service, I believe it is even more important to recognize outstanding leadership. And of course, behind every good leader one finds a team that is just as remarkable.
This year, I am pleased to present this award to your chairperson, Mr. Marcel Beaudry. Before sharing with you the reasons why Mr. Beaudry has earned the Leon Award, allow me to briefly describe the history of this award.
You probably know that, in addition to a certificate, we also award a mascot named Leon, who represents an engineer at the controls of the official languages train. Leon was presented to me as a gift by the Federal Councils in the Atlantic region at the Atlantic Symposium on Official Languages in 2001. Leon reminds us that in order to arrive at our destination—the equality of our two official languages—we have to rely on the help of drivers, of dedicated leaders such as Mr. Beaudry. As a little personal touch, I named the mascot of the Official Languages Leadership Award “Leon” in memory of my brother Leon, who drove a train.
Mr. Beaudry’s accomplishments in the area of official languages have been many, and you are no doubt familiar with them. But I would like to mention a few of them that demonstrate without question the extent to which he has been able to excel and be an exemplary agent of change.
Achievements within the National Capital Commission
Under the direction of Mr. Beaudry, the senior management of the NCC has approved a management framework based on respect, well-being and commitment. The official languages also have their place in this framework, which encourages the use of both English and French in your work environment. Various means of reinforcing this position have subsequently been developed.
First of all, you have developed a protocol and produced a guide on how to successfully chair a bilingual meeting.
Next, to meet the training needs of your employees, you concluded an agreement with a language school that offers its services in the workplace. Sixty employees have thus had the opportunity to spend their lunch hour immersed in their second language. After all, a language that is not used is a language that is gradually abandoned.
Your service to the public has benefited from these arrangements as well. An evaluation of your telephone service by the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada and our own office’s observations of service offered in person have shown that the NCC posts good overall performance in terms of active offer, and in every single case was able to offer service in both languages.
In your Commission, the message is clear: the Official Languages Act and its policies must be everyday realities in the workplace.
Achievements for the Ottawa community
With the endorsement of Mr. Beaudry, the NCC has supported the City of Ottawa's Business Assistance Project. As part of this project, the NCC has developed an action plan involving discussions, evaluations, practical tools and assistance so as to ensure that commercial tenants fully understand and respect their official languages obligations.
Furthermore, the NCC has associated itself with different partners to bring Bernard Pivot’s television program Les trophées de la langue française to the region. This program, which pays tribute to Francophones who are actively engaged in various fields, was broadcast by TV5 in 43 countries on the occasion of the Francophone Summit of 2004, thus advancing the international reputation of the National Capital Region while placing the spotlight on French.
Finally, the NCC has invested in major projects in which it has promoted bilingualism in the National Capital Region: first, through the Sussex Cinéma, a festival of outdoor screenings of French films that it co-ordinated; and second, through the Sussex Heritage Courtyards, which it brought to life for the 400th anniversary of the French presence in North America.
Conclusion
Mr. Beaudry, I salute your leadership in the area of official languages, which has truly contributed to the enhancement of Canadian society, and I encourage you to continue in this direction. Congratulations!
