"I would like to thank each of these recipients for their leadership, dedication and incredible determination," said Premier Clark. "The hard work and the successes you've achieved have made a significant difference to communities, families and people living across Vancouver Island."

The Premier's Awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in all areas of public service including innovation, leadership, partnership and service excellence. This year, six employees from Vancouver Island received awards in the Cross-Government Integration, Emerging Leader, Innovation, Leadership, Partnership and Service Excellence categories.

"The accomplishments of these award winners demonstrate that the public service is a place where people can achieve remarkable things and make a difference," said Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government Minister Stephanie Cadieux, whose ministry administers the awards. "Congratulations to the finalists and all the recipients."

The Ministry of Environment and its partners received an award for their work in recovering the fisheries in the Tsolum River watershed. The river now has more pink salmon than it's seen in 50 years.

Staff at the Ministry of Attorney General and its partners received an award for the collaborative work of government's green teams and their Climate Action Leaders for Annual Campaign, providing support and resources to over 100 teams and 600 members.

Sasha Hobbs with the Public Service Agency received recognition for developing and leading the Province's successful Aboriginal Youth Internship Program. This program supports Aboriginal youth in developing leadership skills and finding career opportunities in B.C.

The Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation's Cheryl McLay received an award for her leadership in economic development projects in Port Alberni and the development of the Community Marina Visitor Facility in Ladysmith.

The Ministry of Health's Surgical Wait Times and Access Team received an award for service excellence. The work of this team helped to improve quality services and patient care, reduce surgical wait times, and develop and promote best practices on the Island.

Also among the winners is a team of employees in B.C.'s Forest Practices and Investment Branch, recognized for developing an application to centrally track all aspects of past and current harvesting and silviculture activities on Crown Land.

Over the past few weeks, Premier's Awards have been presented to outstanding employees in the Lower Mainland, northern and interior regions. The final event is a provincial award ceremony taking place in Victoria on May 31, 2011.

Videos of all Premier's Awards finalists can be viewed online on the BC Public Service YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=4825CF4650484C2C

BACKGROUNDER

CROSS GOVERNMENT INTEGRATION CATEGORY - Since 2009, government's Green Teams have been collaborating and thinking corporately, working outside of ministry silos to build a culture of sustainability in the public service. They've been doing it with an annual campaign that provides support and resources to over 100 teams and 600 members across government. The campaign helps teams run projects like, Target: Green Streets and the Hibernation Challenge and provides tools to track ministry results. These results are shared on the public service's intranet site and recorded by the Climate Action Secretariat. The results form a cross-government baseline to monitor emissions reductions, and the successes of the Green Teams, over time.

Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, Cheryl McLay, Regional Manager

EMERGING LEADER - Cheryl brings a spirit of innovation to her work with communities every day. She is recognized for creating enthusiasm and harnessing excellence for projects that make a difference on Vancouver Island. Cheryl was instrumental in eight local economic development projects in Port Alberni including the completion of upgrades to the Harbour Quay and the revitalization of the uptown area, and is credited with attracting $2 million in external funding for projects over the past two years. In Ladysmith, her leadership helped the Maritime Society successfully obtain $1 million in funding to develop its Community Marina Visitor Facility. Cheryl brings out the best in the people she works with and her enthusiasm inspires those around her.

Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Aboriginal Relations and Forest Tenure staff and partners, RESULTS Team - Forest Practices and Investment Branch

INNOVATION - The typical length of a forest company's legislated reforestation requirement and silviculture obligations is 20 years. Tracking the 102,000 basic silviculture activities over that time is no small task. The RESULTS Implementation Team developed an application to much more easily manage this information through electronic reporting. The application serves as the central electronic repository containing all aspects of past and current harvesting and silviculture activities on Crown Land. This information allows staff to address questions related to the quality of forest management and reforestation practices. The team engaged outside agencies and stakeholders for input and testing to ensure the application's usefulness to everyone over the long term.

Public Service Agency, Sasha Hobbs, Aboriginal Youth Internship Program Lead

LEADERSHIP - Sasha Hobbs is the program lead of the Aboriginal Youth Internship Program and her vision, leadership and commitment has made the program the big success it is today. She's a natural leader, a proud member of the Métis Nation and an incredible asset to the BC Public Service. Her collaborative and inclusive approach to the development of a vision with Aboriginal youth, provincial ministries, and Aboriginal organizations has been key to the program's success. Sasha developed the program including the policies, practices, and training. She set the precedent for hosting a traditional First Nations ceremony to launch a government program. Sasha has successfully turned a pilot project into a thriving and committed program.

Ministry of Environment and partners, Tsolum River Partnership

PARTNERSHIP - Following the closure of a small open-pit copper mine on Mt. Washington in the 1960s, leaching copper eliminated the fisheries in the Tsolum River watershed. Remediation work in the 1980s and 1990s improved water quality, but it wasn't enough to support a healthy fisheries resource. In 2001, a partnership involving multiple agencies was developed to restore the fishery. As momentum gathered, this Tsolum River Partnership blossomed. Thanks to their perseverance, by 2009 copper contamination from the site had decreased by 77 per cent. The water quality in the Tsolum River has improved dramatically, allowing the fisheries resources to begin to recover. In the fall of 2009, there were more pink salmon in the river than had been seen in 50 years. Ministry of Health, Surgical Wait Times and Access Team,

Acute Care and Performance Accountability Branch, Health Authorities Division

SERVICE EXCELLENCE - This team developed a strategy that led to significant improvement in quality services and patient care, reduction of surgical wait times, and the development and promotion of best practices. Benefits include:

• Quicker surgery resulting in a faster return to daily activities, including work.
• Patients and families have accurate information to help them with planning.
• Reduced recovery times and length of patient stays in hospital.
• Reduced rates of adverse events due to quality improvement.
• Physicians have the information needed to prioritize patients and manage wait lists fairly.
• Greater confidence in the health system.

Contacts:

Chris Olsen
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
604 220-1640

Melody Wey
Public Affairs Officer
Ministry of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government
250 508-5030