"I am pleased today to announce that the Knowledge Economy Partnership of Prince Edward Island has recently been recognized with The Head of the Public Service Award. The award was presented to the entire membership of the Knowledge Economy Partnership Steering Committee in recognition of their outstanding efforts and inroads in service delivery.
"The Head of the Public Service Award which was presented for the first time on December 7, 1998, by Jocelyne Bourgon, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, was created to formally recognize and honour those employees who demonstrated excellence in meeting the challenges facing the Public Service of Canada. Only 20 awards will be granted each year in response to nominations received from across the country.
"Mr. Speaker, the KEP committee members are richly deserving of this award which formally acknowledges their unwavering dedication and commitment to significantly improving the way in which government programs and services are provided to the citizens of PEI.
"It has been through their cooperation and collaboration that more than 40 separate projects have been launched. The nature and scope of the initiatives are significantly diverse, ranging from feasibility studies and implementation plans on integrated service delivery, youth initiatives, training and development of human resources, delivery of health services to enterprise development and electronic commerce.
"The most recent project to their credit is the highly successful, first-ever Information Technology Week in Prince Edward Island held across the province during the last week of November.
"The tremendous accomplishments of this unique partnership would not have been made possible without the spirited resolve of the committee members and their collective belief that Prince Edward Island is an ideal location to develop, pilot and implement innovative approaches to delivering services to its citizens. On behalf of all my colleagues in the Legislature, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to all the committee members for a job well done."