Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
WINNIPEG POLICE SERVICE AWARDS
My Church Winnipeg, 955 Wilkes
Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
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Members and friends of the Winnipeg Police Service, it’s a pleasure to join you today to celebrate devotion and dedication.
As Lieutenant Governor, I begin by acknowledging that we’re gathered in the heart of Treaty One land and in the homeland of the Red River Metis.
The city whose people you serve is the capital of a province that is the ancestral and present-day home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, Dene, Inuit and Red River Metis peoples. Together, we can make this city, this province and this country a better place by learning and listening and working together to support justice, equity and opportunity for all.
Under the Canadian Honours system, Canada has a series of awards for extraordinary contributions to society – including medals for long-standing exemplary service in potentially dangerous fields dedicated to preserving public safety.
And that is what brings us here today. The men and women being recognized have served for twenty years – or more – meeting the high standards of professional conduct demanded by the Winnipeg Police Service.
As outsiders, when many of us think of the courage and devotion to duty required of police officers, we likely think of something we might see in a TV show: an arrest of a dangerous suspect or a rescue of somebody in a life-threatening peril.
And while I’m sure many of you have had moments like that, today we’re talking about the quiet courage of heading into work day after day, year after year, to face the unknown. And we’re also talking about the devotion to duty involved in fulfilling the very high standards of the police code of ethics.
As that code states, today’s award recipients have been true to the principle that “all persons are equally entitled to courtesy, understanding and compassion.”
In all branches of police work, in their work preventing and detecting crime, in their work to ensure safety on our roads, in their interactions with the community, in their work to enhance operations of the Winnipeg Police Service, recipients of the Exemplary Service Award have set a high standard.
To all of today’s award recipients, I thank you for your devotion and service to our community and to our laws. May the gratitude of our community stay with you throughout your career and beyond.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom