2010 Olympic Winter Games
The Games are over and the flame is extinguished. But what an unforgettable 17 days we have had during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver! With the Paralympics on the horizon, there are sure to be more memories to come.
I want to take this opportunity to recognize the enormous contribution public servants have made to this complex, collaborative undertaking.
I am very proud of the thousands of public servants who worked tirelessly to prepare for this event since Vancouver won its bid for the Games in 2003. For seven years no effort was spared to make the Olympics a success for the athletes, officials and visitors from all over the world.
The contributions came in many forms and from right across the public service, including Canadian Heritage, Public Safety Canada, the Department of National Defence, Transport Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Border Service Agency, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and Privy Council Office.
The goal of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the Canadian and British Columbian Governments was to deliver extraordinary Games for Canada and the world. This goal was clearly exceeded.
And though the number and colour of the medals won by Canadians will leave lasting memories, the most important symbol may have been the Maple Leaf worn by Canadians in every town and city across the country in numbers that I don’t think any of us could have imagined.
We now have the Paralympics to look forward to later this month and I know that we can continue to count on the public service to make this another successful event.
For the thousands who visited and the billions who watched around the world, you have helped showcase Canada as a place of warmth and excellence and for this I thank all of you.
Wayne G. Wouters
Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet