[ Backgrounder ]December 1, 2003OTTAWA - Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, and the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada, presented today the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada to three senior public service employees. This year's recipients are: Ronald Bilodeau, Vice-president, Canadian Pacific Railway, and former Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Deputy Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, Privy Council Office; Dr. Claire Franklin, Senior Advisor to the Deputy Minister, Health Canada; and Dr. J. R. Jocelyn Paré, Director of the Wastewater Technology Centre, National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada."Canada is the envy of the world for the professionalism of our public service and for the non-partisan advice that the members of the Public Service of Canada give to political leaders," said the Prime Minister. "The recipients of this year's Outstanding Achievement Award have provided distinctive leadership, innovation, ideas, and talent in modernizing Canada's public service and enabling it to respond to the current and future needs of all Canadians."The Government of Canada introduced the Outstanding Achievement Award in 1966. It is the highest honour in the Public Service of Canada. A committee of distinguished Canadians appointed by the Prime Minister selects the recipients. A maximum of five awards may be presented each year. Recipients receive a framed certificate, gold pin and a Canadian work of art of a maximum value of $5,000. The Outstanding Achievement Award is one of three public service-wide award programs administered by the Treasury Board Secretariat. Other programs include the Head of the Public Service Award and the Award of Excellence.More details about the Outstanding Achievement Award 2003 recipients are available at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hr-rh/ar-pr/outstanding/siglist_e.asp- 30 -For more information, please contact:Marilyne Guèvremont or France LangloisRideau Hall Media Office(613) 998-7280 / (613) 993-8157Media contact for Ronald Bilodeau:François JubinvillePrivy Council Office(613) 957-5072Media contact for Dr. Claire Franklin:Chris KrepskiHealth Canada(613) 736-3693Media contact for Dr. J.R. Jocelyn Paré:Sébastien BoisEnvironment Canada(613) 953-4016IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired) - (613) 957-9090BackgrounderRecipients of the Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, and the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada, today presented the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada to three senior public service employees. The awards honour outstanding members of the Public Service of Canada from the executive officer and equivalent ranks as well as those at the Deputy Minister and equivalent levels.In a reception held at Rideau Hall, the three distinguished senior public servants were recognized for sustained and exceptional performance of their duties and accomplishments.Ronald Bilodeau - Privy Council OfficeKnown as much for the magnitude of his achievements as for the modesty of his manner and his rejection of the limelight, Ronald Bilodeau has made an extraordinary contribution to Canada and to popular confidence in the federal public service.Born in Montréal, Quebec, Mr. Bilodeau graduated from Collège Sainte-Marie de Montréal with a Bachelor of Arts degree and from the University of Montréal with both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Political Science. In 1975, he attended the École nationale d'administration in Paris, France.Mr. Bilodeau joined the federal government in 1967 and served in various departments before becoming a policy analyst at the Department of Regional Economic Expansion in 1975. He later accepted a position at the Ministry of State for Economic Development, where he worked as a program director until 1987.In 1987, Mr. Bilodeau joined the Privy Council Office (PCO) as Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Economic and Regional Development. With the exception of a year when he was Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Bilodeau has served with PCO in positions of increasing responsibility and often in challenging times.From 1990 to 1993, the period of the Gulf War and the implementation of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA, he was Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Operations), overseeing operational support for the Prime Minister and the chairs of Cabinet committees on various aspects of national policy.In February of 1993, Mr. Bilodeau was appointed as Deputy Minister of Natural Resources. From 1994 to 1996, during the Quebec Referendum, he was Deputy Minister and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet (Intergovernmental Affairs). From 1996 to the spring of 2003, Mr. Bilodeau served as Associate Secretary to the Cabinet and Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council, playing a central role in mobilizing and co-ordinating the federal response, with the provinces, to the Saguenay and Manitoba floods and the ice storm of 1998.In 2002, at the request of the Prime Minister, Mr. Bilodeau took on additional responsibilities as Deputy Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister and later the same year became Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator and Deputy Minister for the policy and operations of the Communications Security Establishment. Mr. Bilodeau is currently the Vice-president of Canadian Pacific Railway, in Montreal.Dr. Claire Franklin - Health CanadaBorn in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dr. Claire Franklin earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Carleton University and her doctorate in Physiology at the University of Ottawa.After serving as director of the Thunder Bay School of Medical Technology and as Chair of the Medical Sciences Program at Lakehead University, she joined the Environmental Health Directorate of Health and Welfare Canada in 1975. In 1995, she was appointed Executive Director of the newly created Pest Management Regulatory Agency at Health Canada.In the ensuing eight years, Dr. Franklin has responded with outstanding success to the challenges of launching a new organization and bringing it to a position of international leadership. An early accomplishment in this process was the consolidation of personnel from four departments with differing corporate cultures and mandates into a single team with a clear sense of purpose.Dr. Franklin has also pioneered the innovative use of information technologies by the Agency, first to clear a backlog of product submission reviews and later to convert the review process and other management procedures to electronic media. In 1999, the Agency received the world's first fully electronic product submission and is now internationally recognized as a pacesetter in this field. Throughout this period, the Agency has worked closely with regulatory agencies in the US and other countries on the harmonization of requirements and standards.In 1996, Canada and the US initiated a joint review process for new pesticides with the intent of making products available to Canadian and American growers simultaneously. In consultation with stakeholder groups, Dr. Franklin developed the draft legislation of the Pest Control Products Act, which received Royal Assent in December 2002. She has also been successful in acquiring resources to implement the Act, for both Health Canada and other departments responsible for pesticide-related research, and has instituted a continuous learning program at the Agency.Throughout her career, Dr. Franklin has continued to contribute as a scientist to the field of toxicology. In addition to managing significant research programs at Health Canada, she has been instrumental in accessing additional funding for environmental health studies from international sources, including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in the US, and has collaborated with researchers at Harvard University to study the effects of air pollution on children's health.Dr. J.R. Jocelyn Paré - Environment CanadaBorn in Mont-Laurier, Quebec, Dr. J.R. Jocelyn Paré graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and earned his doctorate in Chemistry at Carleton University in Ottawa. Dr. Paré's career in the federal public service began in 1985.After serving at the Defence Research Establishment, at Agriculture Canada's Chemistry and Biology Research Institute and at the Saint-Hyacinthe Food Research Centre, Dr. Paré joined Environment Canada in 1989. He has served as Research Scientist and Head of Analytical Programs at the Environmental Technology Centre at Environment Canada, Director of the Wastewater Technology Centre, and most recently as Acting Director General of the Environmental Technology Advancement Directorate. Dr. Paré's career is a chronicle of extraordinary achievements in scientific research, technology development, program management, and technology transfer. He has won international acclaim as the main architect of Microwave-Assisted Processes, or MAPä , a set of revolutionary technologies for the extraction of commercially valuable substances and removal of contaminants from soil.Widely recognized as one of the most effective technology development and transfer programs to originate in a government research laboratory, the MAPä program produced technologies that are now in worldwide use in environmental, industrial and research applications. Industry experts estimate that sales of MAPä -related products will reach unprecedented levels for a government-derived technology by 2007.In addition to his contributions as a scientist, Dr. Paré has played an active part in the transfer of MAPä technologies, taking a leading role in such areas as the negotiation of licensing agreements and in outreach activities, including training and lectures on specific applications. Dr. Paré has also been the driving force in the building of a unique global multi-disciplinary network of researchers dedicated to the development of environmentally sound technology to support sustainable development. He has authored approximately 140 scientific papers, and is associated as adjunct or visiting professor with several universities in Canada and abroad.Dr. J.R. Jocelyn Paré's achievements have brought significant economic and environmental benefits to Canadians. In a wider sphere they have won international recognition of the quality of scientific research and development in Canadian government laboratories and of their contribution to the international public good.More details about the Outstanding Achievement Award 2003 recipients are available at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hr-rh/ar-pr/outstanding/siglist_e.asp.
