Lieutenant Governor's Medal

Excellence in Public Administration in Manitoba 2009

Mr. John Wilkins received the 2009 Lieutenant Governor's Medal from the
Honourable Philip Lee in a ceremony held on December 11, 2009 held at City
Hall at the invitation of His Worship Sam Katz and IPAC Manitoba Regional
Group.

Read Mr. Wilkins Acceptance Speech (PDF 57 KB)

Nominations Process

Details on the nomination process can be in the Nominations document below or by calling 474-9666 or e-mail ipac.lg@gmail.com.

Kerry McQuarrie Smith, Chairperson
Award Selection Committee

Past Recipients

Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Public Administration in Manitoba

This medal pays tribute to public sector practitioners whose careers exhibit the highest standard of excellence, dedication and accomplishment. The medal seeks to provide recognition of an outstanding professional and to underscore the need for creative, highly skilled individuals serving in the public sector. The medal is granted on the basis of outstanding contributions on a sustained basis rather than as a result of any single exceptional public service deed.

Criteria used in evaluating nominees:
►     Leadership
►     Accomplishment
►     Community Work
►     Special Professional Contributions
►     Dedication
►     Sustained Effort

Past recipients of the Lieutenant Governor's Medal:

2008 - Dr. Allan Preston - Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (1974 University of Saskatchewan) is the Assistant Deputy Minister of Agri-Industry Development and Innovation for Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives. Dr. Preston is recognized nationally as a leader in his profession and has been active in addressing the challenges of ensuring the success and safety of the animal food chain for producers, consumers, industry and government.

2007 – Emöke J. E. Szathmáry – 10th President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manitoba (1996-2008). Received Order of Canada in 2003. In 2004 named one of Canada’s top 100 most powerful woman. In 2005, made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

2006 – Shirley Strutt – former Civil Service Commissioner for the Province of Manitoba. Active in various professional organizations: IPAC, Canadian Association for the Administration of Justice and the Association of Parliamentary Counsel in Canada, serving as the latter’s President from 1991 to 1992.

2005 - Jim Eldridge – Clerk of the Executive Council of the Province for many years. Instrumental in forging strong federal / provincial relations

2004 - Dr. Benjamin Levin – Distinguished service in government and academia. Former Deputy Minister of Education

2003 - Robert (Bob) Adie – Professor of Politics at the University of Winnipeg from 1970 until 1997, Politics department chair from 1994 to 1997. Chair and co-founder of the UM/UW Joint MPA program. Co-authored one of the leading texts on Canadian public administration in 1982, a second edition published in 1987.

2002 - William Neville – Rhodes Scholar, Winnipeg City Councillor, Assistant to the President of the University of Manitoba, Chair of the Winnipeg Public Library Commission and political columnist

2001 - Arnold Naimark – former President of the University of Manitoba and Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Medicine.

2000 - Don Leitch – Longest serving cabinet secretary among Canadian governments with extensive community involvement.

1999 - Thomas Farrell, Deputy Minister of Manitoba Labour, former Mayor of Thompson, member of nine professional organizations and the President of the Manitoba Safety Council

1998 – Larry Whitney - Manager of water development and planning within the Water Resources Branch of Natural Resources. As a professional engineer, began his career with the provincial government in 1969.

1997 – Boris Hryhorczuk - Deputy Minister of the Manitoba Department of Transportation Metro's traffic planning engineer and head of WATS.

1996 – Earl Backman - Former head of the Brandon Regional Health Authority and commissioner. Appointed Manitoba’s Commissioner to study MLA pay, allowances and retirement benefits

1995 – Moira Robinson - Presented with the province's highest honour--the Order of the Buffalo Hunt. Robinson has served on a number of community boards, commissions and societies and acting as president for a number of organizations.

1994 – Dr. Paul Thomas - Professor and acting Graduate Chair in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba. Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Manitoba, and PhD from the University of Toronto. His research interests include public policy, public administration, parliamentary reform, and federal-provincial relations.

1993 – Roberta Ellis-Grunfeld - Deputy Minister of Manitoba Labour the Award recognized her efforts in pioneering the implementation of Pay Equity legislation in Canada.

1992 – Graeme Garson - Chief executive officer of the Law Society of Manitoba

1991 – Wally Fox-Decent - Chair of the Workers Compensation Board - was first appointed board chair in 1992, being reappointed four times by successive provincial governments, both NDP and Conservative. Fox-Decent was appointed by the Board of Directors to the position of CEO for a three year period.

1990 – Nick Diakiw – Appointed the Commissioner of Works and Operations in 1974, becoming the Chief Commissioner for the City of Winnipeg for ten years. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the City of Winnipeg.

1989 – Charles Curtis - Manitoba’s Deputy Minister of Finance for 20 years. Chaired Manitoba Hydro and acted as chief executive officer for the Manitoba Energy Authority. In 1997, he was appointed executive-in-residence at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Management (now I.H. Asper School of Business). Member of the Order of Manitoba.

1988 – John Bock - Assistant Deputy Minister of Corrections for the Province of Manitoba

1987 – Dr. Ron Duhamel – MP for Saint Boniface and as Veterans Affairs minister he was appointed to the Senate. Had a distinguished career as an educator, as a senior civil servant in the province of Manitoba.