Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
ORDER OF MANITOBA INVESTITURE CEREMONY
Legislative Building
Thursday, July 20, 2023
(please check against delivery)
Fellow Manitobans – welcome to the Manitoba Legislative Building and this celebration of twelve remarkable individuals and their contributions to this province and the world.
As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I am honoured to share this space with you here, on Treaty One land, in the heartland of the Red River Metis.
This beautiful and diverse province is also the ancestral and the present-day home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene, and Inuit peoples.
Together, we will continue to work to hear truths, and to advance understanding, opportunity, and healing for all.
All Manitobans deserve to live in a healthy, just and prosperous province that provides opportunities to learn, to experience beauty and joy, and to support a family.
Fortunately, we have no shortage of Manitobans working to bring that about, through family and volunteer commitments and dedication to their chosen field.
We are also blessed to have in our midst Manitobans who have dedicated their great talents, their hard-earned knowledge and their precious time to enrich our province, culturally, socially and economically.
The Order of Manitoba, as our province’s highest honour, recognizes outstanding individuals both for their achievements in their own field and for the many ways they have enhanced life in Manitoba, through leadership, philanthropy and community service.
Members of the Order of Manitoba demonstrate that there are countless ways of using one’s skills, imagination and energy to create a better province.
Some work for justice, human rights and multicultural understanding. Some improve our understanding of the causes and treatments of illness. Some strengthen the ability of Manitobans to understand and express themselves through the arts. Some build compassion and foster curiosity. Some create economic opportunities that support all these and more.
Amid the great diversity of the contributions made by members of the Order of Manitoba, there’s one great unifying theme.
Each of them, in their own area of endeavour or specialty, has seen a gap and worked to fill it.
They’ve seen a public need that wasn’t being met. They’ve seen a mystery in need of solving. They’ve seen an opportunity to build something that did not exist – maybe not in Manitoba, maybe not in the whole world. And they’ve built it.
To see something where there is nothing takes a special kind of imagination. It’s the kind of vision made famous by Michelangelo, who, according to legend, said the figure he sculpted was already in the block of marble – he just had to set it free.
The achievements and the creative vision of these individuals have allowed them to inspire others to contribute to a better society. In so doing, they have multiplied their contributions past what their own time and talent could make possible.
Each of them has encouraged, inspired and even challenged their fellow Manitobans to do what they can to enhance life in our province and beyond.
It is a privilege and an honour to welcome today’s honorees to the Order of Manitoba. To each of you, congratulations on this recognition of your contributions and your leadership.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich.
