Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
ROYAL MILITARY INSTITUTE OF MANITOBA AWARDS
Manitoba Legislative Building
Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
(please check against delivery)
Friends and supporters of the Royal Military Institute of Manitoba – advocates for the safety and security of Canada, welcome to this ceremony in recognition of great service in support of our country’s defence.
We are gathered this evening in a building consecrated to the principle of democracy, in a place where the people’s elected representatives conduct public business in the open and where Manitobans themselves gather to voice their concerns and express their visions for the future.
And this building, in the heart of Treaty One land and the heartland of the Red River Metis, symbolically turns its face northward to the treaty and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Dene and Cree nations and to parts of northern Manitoba that are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
The Manitoba and Canada whose safety, sovereignty and protection we support tonight are characterized by the rule of law, respect for treaties and co-operation among many peoples in the spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration.
Canadians take great satisfaction at living in a peaceable land, where violent disputes that tear countries apart or turn cities to wastelands seem to be a world away.
But of course maintaining that state of affairs has always required the work and preparedness of the dedicated professionals of our armed forces and security services.
And, obviously, it has required the service and sacrifice of Canadians in two world wars and in conflicts from Korea to Afghanistan
It has also required constant support for recruitment and training, research and development, and acquisition of new equipment of all kinds.
- It has required support for Canada’s participation in alliances to share intelligence,
- to participate in joint planning and exercises
- and to defend common values.
All of that requires an effort to disseminate ideas and knowledge and build support within Canada for our military and security services.
The Royal Military Institute of Manitoba has been filling that need for more than a century. It has been bringing together men and women committed to this goal, from the military, the RCMP and CSIS, and from the worlds of business, education and public policy.
Tonight, I am pleased to join you in honouring individuals who have made great contributions in support of those goals. Whether they serve in the military or security services as a career, or whether they offer their expertise and advocacy from outside, these individuals have helped to make Canada more capable of defending its people, its values and its sovereignty in an always-uncertain world.
Thank you for your dedication to Canada.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom
