 Hello and welcome to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General's 2020 Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards. Thank you all for joining us here today. My name is Marcy Mesroba and I'm the Executive Director of Community Programs and Strategic Policy Initiatives with the Community Safety and Crime Prevention Branch. I would like to begin by acknowledging that I am joining you today from the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Slewa and Squamish nations. I am delighted to open this year's Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards Ceremony. As with all things, this year's awards ceremony is unique. We are presenting this year's ceremony to you virtually, so it will look a little bit different. But what hasn't changed is all of us coming together to celebrate and recognize outstanding leaders in community safety and crime prevention across the province. This virtual format provides us with an opportunity to engage with one another in new ways, and I invite you to use the YouTube live chat feature to share your own messages of congratulations during this broadcast. I would like to now ask you to join me in welcoming knowledge keeper Alec Dan, who is joining us from the Musqueam Indian Band and who will share with us a traditional welcome. I see I'm the CIA. It's an honor for me to be here with you at this moment to welcome you to the unceded territory of the Musqueam people and descendants of Musqueam ancestors, our friends and relatives from Squamish and Slewa. It's an honor for me to be here, to be the voice at this time, to be the voice for my family, my community, my elders and my ancestors that have kept our cultural teachings going so we can carry on with it today. Welcome you here, not only to the wonderful event taking place, but to welcome you to the unceded territory of the Musqueam people. To go along with these words of welcome, share a little bit of our welcome song and the words translate to welcome respected ones, welcome loved ones. With that, I'll share the song Haidt Kaseem. Given the format of this year's awards ceremony, I know there are award recipients and guests joining us today from all corners of the province. And I wish to acknowledge our traditional hosts and thank them for their graciousness in welcoming us to carry out this work on their lands. To start, we have a message from the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. Hi, I'm Mike Farnworth, BC's Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. I want to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to you today on the traditional land of the Laquungen speaking peoples and the Esquimalt and Songheese erst nations. On whose land we are grateful to live, work and play. I'm glad we're able to be here virtually to honor the hard work and tenacity of individuals and organizations across our province who are committed to making our communities safer. I'd like to start by extending my congratulations to all of the award recipients. Community safety and crime prevention cannot be achieved by government alone. And that is why we're here today, honoring the six recipients whose tremendous efforts help to foster safe communities and make our province a great place to live. The work that you do day in and day out has not gone unnoticed. For victims of crime, for people impacted by gender-based violence, for youth, for the advancement of restorative justice in our communities and in helping to keep our communities safe, you are critical partners in delivering the services that are so vital to those who are in need. You make a positive difference in our communities by ensuring that there are supports for our most vulnerable and contributing in countless ways to community safety and crime prevention. You've made a lasting impact on those you help. Your unwavering dedication, tireless commitment and selflessness in providing vital services to communities is inspiring. I want to personally thank and recognize each and every one of you for your passion, perseverance and leadership. And on behalf of all British Columbians, thank you for your outstanding achievements. Once again, congratulations and thank you. Thank you, Minister, for joining us with your encouraging words. Every year, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General hosts these awards to acknowledge leaders in our province who have made significant contributions to crime prevention and community safety in British Columbia. Today, we are here to recognize and celebrate six individuals who have been critical partners in delivering services that foster healing, justice and safer communities. I'm joined today by my colleague, Executive Director, Steve Ford, who will be presenting the awards today. Welcome, Steve. Thank you very much, Marci and welcome everyone, especially this year's award recipients. I'm honored to join you all today. After each award is announced, we will hear from the award recipients, as well as the nominators and community members who have worked closely with our exceptional recipients. We begin today with the Award of Distinction. This award honors an extraordinary lifetime contribution and commitment to crime prevention and community safety. It is a privilege to announce Leanne Rich, Nurse Coordinator at BC Women's Hospital Sexual Assault Services, is a recipient of the 2020 Award of Distinction. Leanne has worked tirelessly in her role supporting survivors of sexual assault in Vancouver for the past 25 years and has helped shape the delivery and development of sexual assault programs throughout the province through her work with the BC Women's Hospital Sexual Assault Services. Hello, I'm Leanne Rich and I'm honored to be this year's recipient of the Community Safety and Crime Prevention Award of Distinction for my work as a clinician and educator in the BC Women's Hospital Sexual Assault Service. I would first like to acknowledge that I'm speaking to you from the unceded ancestral and traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Swaley-tooth nations. I want to begin my remarks by recognizing the visionary and passionate leaders who started the sexual assault service in 1982, Dr. Liz Weynott and Dr. Carol Herbert. The sexual assault service is the longest-running program of its kind in Canada. It is a remarkable service that was a leader in bringing feminist and trauma-informed care into mainstream healthcare practice. To this day, these values inform every patient encounter and are embedded in every policy, decision and direction the program takes. I want to thank the managers and the executive of the program for their commitment and for sustaining the values and ideals of the program founders. I want to particularly acknowledge and thank Dr. Tracy Pickett, our current medical director for her mentorship and leadership. Dr. Pickett is a national expert in forensic medicine. She is brilliant, hard-working, problem-solver, extraordinary and is the doctor you want to at your side for her calm and compassionate care. I'm deeply honored that she nominated me for this award. When I began my career nursing over 30 years ago, it was with a deep personal commitment to support the less powerful among us, those affected by inequality and those whose voices were rarely heard. I also wanted to contribute to positive societal and systemic change. When I joined the sexual assault service in 1994, I knew this program was a perfect fit for me. The program's central tenets of survivor-centered care and advocacy aligned perfectly with my personal and professional values, something I have never taken for granted and for which I am deeply grateful. Some of the most rewarding work of my career has been the opportunity to teach and train so many wonderful people and to help establish and support specialized sexual assault services across the province. I have had the honor to partner with the most tenacious and dedicated community advocates and healthcare providers who work tirelessly to ensure survivors have access to the care they need and deserve after experiencing the trauma of sexual assault. The opportunity to help restore a survivor's dignity is a privilege. To that end, I want to thank all the nurses, doctors, nurse examiners and counselors who are the essence of our program. Thank you for choosing to do this work. Thank you for your passion, for being present, for doing this work with such heart and compassion, and for being a catalyst in a survivor's journey to recovery, health and justice. In closing, it is an incredible honor and I am deeply humbled to receive this award. It has been a gift to me to find a career that has allowed me to be my authentic self, to be of service to others and has given me so much meaning and purpose in my life. Once again, I want to thank the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Community Safety and Crime Prevention for honoring me with this award and for acknowledging the value of our program. I am so proud to have had a role in improving the practices and the systems of care for survivors of sexual violence. Thank you. Hello, my name is Dr. Tracy Pickett and I am the Medical Director of the BC Women's Sexual Assault Service. I am so pleased to have been able to nominate Leanne Rich for the Community Service Award Lifetime Achievement. Leanne has been with the BC Women's Sexual Assault Service since 1996 and that was when I first met her when I was still a medical student at Vancouver General Hospital. For the past 25 years, Leanne has shaped our program from how we support survivors with a trauma-informed perspective to writing protocols and policies informing patients and police and all age aspects of our care. She has played a key role in developing our education program and delivering that throughout the province. BC Women's Hospital has taught the majority of sexual assault examiners throughout the province and Leanne has established connections or helped set up programs throughout BC. She's a key resource for sexual assault examiners throughout the province and has been giving and generous in her time and wholly dedicated to supporting both patients and families and programs. Leanne Rich has wholeheartedly been the foundation of the longest running sexual assault program in Canada and has richly supported and impacted care for all British Columbians. She has dedicated and determined and until now has been under recognized for her value and service. Thank you and congratulations Leanne. Hello my name is Cheryl Davies and I'm the Chief Operating Officer for BC Women's Hospital and Health Center, a program of the Provincial Health Services Authority. I come to you from the lands of the Coast Salish people, the Musqueam Squamish and the Slewa tooth and I thank them in gratitude for the privilege of being able to work and serve our populations in our hospital each and every day. I'm honored to be here today to congratulate one of our stellar employees, Leanne Rich, on the most esteemed receipt of the Community Safety and Crime Prevention Award for 2020. I have had the pleasure of working with a knowing Leanne for decades now as she has had a stellar career for over 30 years in working in the area of gender-based violence and sexual assault. Leanne has worked as our leadership team within the BC Women's Sexual Assault Program, serving the Vancouver region since 1996 and her work in program development, promotion and supporting best practice in the care of populations who've been impacted by sexualized violence, her work in advocacy and her particularly important work in making connections to the community with all of our partners who work to bring attention, awareness and response to gender-based violence and sexualized violence in our province has been just notable. Leanne particularly has always thought it very important to make connections to the many different sectors of our society who are so critical to the response and support of people who've been impacted by the significant public health issue and her connections to working with constabulary at different levels, serving on TransLink committees and RCMP divisions in terms of sexual assault cases has just been so extensive and so important. Leanne you have just been an amazing role model inspiring to many a clear and steadfast advocate in this area for decades and unfortunately as we move forward in our society this remains a public health issue and as we sit in a pandemic have seen further exacerbations of these issues and so I know that the work that you have done with community and in the hospital and with our health authorities will support and has supported a legacy of infrastructure and services who will continue on with the good work that you've started that you're passionate about and that you are so committed to eradicating in our society so thank you for all that you've done congratulations on this esteemed award that you so well deserve and wish you all the best thank you. Congratulations Leanne our next award is the services to victims award which celebrates exemplary leadership in providing services and supports to victims and survivors of crime this year we have a tie in the category there are two award recipients in the services to victims award category a reflection of the exceptional work and contributions to supporting victims in their respective communities it is a pleasure to honor both an outstanding organization and an exceptional individual in this category the first recipient has provided immeasurable support to countless victims and their families over the past 17 years it is my honor to present the 2020 services to victims award to the program manager of the Penticton and Summerland RCMP Victim Witness Services Unit DD Dossick I'm very honored to have been nominated on Slack to this award the people that do this work don't shop day after day because of the high pay or fail awards we do this work because we care and we want to make a difference sure some days are tougher than others but at the end of the day if we're able to make a bit of a difference then it's certainly worth it I've been doing this work for 17 years I've enjoyed it and appreciate the work and support from the people I've been privileged to work with along the way and of course my canine pads partner Calypso I've had tough cases and hard cases to understand it's difficult to pick one experience from all these years this stands out for me certainly when I deal with children who are innocent little victims and have experienced or witnessed something that a child should never see it's very difficult when these little kids give you a big hug and a thank you and tell you that they wouldn't have been able to manage without my support it makes it all worthwhile a few years ago I became involved with an investigation with a young girl whose parents were prostituting her out I supported her through the investigation the court process I engaged her with other community resources to assist her especially in her schooling she was so appreciative of my support she invited me to her high school grant it was an honor people ask me sometimes how do you do this job I just tell them it's a great job it's a hard job sometimes but somebody has to do it thank you hello my name is ken roger and I'm the admin manager for the fintechton rcdp detachment I'd like to acknowledge that I am on the traditional and unseated territory of the sea let's okanagan people it is a great pleasure that I nominated DD Dasek for the services to victims award I've worked with DD for all 17 years if she has been a victim services practitioner here at fintechton detachment in that time from starting as a volunteer to last year becoming a program manager DD has always been the same person one who puts the needs and care for supporting people before all else her dedication and perseverance was never as evident as last year when after a particularly traumatic event in this community she found herself unexpectedly writing the entire program virtually singlehandedly DD never wavered she accepted responsibilities and workload with an usual positive attitude and very quickly implemented changes to better supporter clients this is just one instance although significant in a career full of them where DD has shown her value to the victims the detachment and the community as a whole I can talk for hours about DD's contributions as part of the community in the south of okanagan her client first attitude her attention to detail which did not be duplicated she provides a service a level of service to her clients that make each and every one of them feel like a priority DD has a unique capacity to offer personal and emotional care without ever costing boundaries or stepping outside of mandate this year breadth and scope for responsibilities will far beyond any definition of victim services worker in addition to support she and her pads dog clips will provide to victims of crime or community you also offer refugees or rcp members and support staff DD clips will provide a safe haven for those who need a momentary pause from the harsh realities of police work and the stress that accompanies the responsibilities they're in she's an excellent team leader providing ongoing education training and learning opportunities for the staff and volunteers that work with her caring and compassionate nature is second to none as she treats her clients community partners and colleagues with the same level of kindness and respect I'm proud and honored to be the first new nominee to be recognized for this outstanding work and contributions to our community thank you we're all for the penticton general investigation section at the penticton rcp detachment we are honored to be able to personally thank DD dask it for her years of dedication and support to the police-based victim service program for years DD's been a rock without hesitation DD answers every police officer's call for service at the penticton detachment often after hours DD puts her heart and soul into every referral spending countless hours at a victim's residence providing comfort to a family or listening over the phone to someone mourning the loss of a loved one as a police officer we get to lead the scene but that's when DD's job starts she remains connected to victims long after we go home sometimes for years I personally witnessed her in action during child interviews with calypso her trauma support dog and in the courtroom supplying clinics and hugs to victims and their families and a few police officers too I often overhear police officers saying they could not do the job she does and it's true not many people can you're we are so grateful to have you to pick up the pieces after something truly terrible happens they're countless members you go to your office for support or a listening ear because we all know you genuinely care DD's truly compassionate empathetic and caring person you're one of a kind cheers to DD cheers cheers hi my name is Debbie Scarborough I'm the executive director of Soren's South Okanaka women's society as well as a local community corner and I would like my name to be added to the long list of those giving accolades and congratulations to DD DD has shown tremendous commitment and dedication to serving those victims and survivors of crime over 17 years we give accolades to those that enter into the victim service field providing support nurturing those that have suffered at the hands of others and never mind 17 years which DD has provided and given and contributed to this community and we have worked alongside of DD for many years and her dedication her commitment to making it better for for those that have lived through crime has been obvious and definitely award-winning and it's been difficult she's been the only staff at times and the demand has not lessened upon her and yet she's risen to the challenge so her commitment her dedication has been amazing and so appreciated throughout this community I would hesitate to say that there's many that would not be living such a healthy life had it not been for DD so thank you DD congratulations to this very well deserved award you certainly deserve it take care bye congratulations DD the second recipient of the services to victims award is a community organization that has been supporting survivors of sexual assault in the capital regional district and south Vancouver island since 1982 it is my pleasure to present the 2020 services to victims award to the victoria sexual assault center good evening i'm dr. Elijah executive director with the victoria sexual assault center on behalf of our staff volunteers board community partners and clients i'm grateful to accept the 2020 public safety and solicitor general services to victim award we are inspired by the tremendous strength and resiliency of survivors and we are honored to walk alongside them on their healing journey the survivors we have supported and those we have been unable to support due to obstacles inspired us to create the sexual assault clinic as many of you know after a sexual assault there are many obstacles to healing our clinic addresses many of these obstacles it's a space where survivor needs are put at the center of every decision people are held with dignity and respect and we are a location where survivors can have various needs met in one trauma informed setting since we opened the clinic the number of people we have been able to meet in their trying hours and days after a sexual assault have dramatically increased this means more survivors are receiving the care that they need we are heartened by the recognition that our best practice first and only if it's a kind to canada clinic is succeeding in our collaboration with forensic nurse examiners island health rc and p m police with safe culturally appropriate medical care that is confidential and offering forensic exams crisis support and police reporting options we also honor this award by uplifting all of our community collaborators who support this work knowing that we all must work together to end sexualized violence and to heal the complex layers of this violence thank you for this award and we remain ever steadfast in our mission to support women and trans survivors of sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse through advocacy counseling and empowerment thank you hello i'm chief constable scott green from the sanage police department i'd like to begin by acknowledging that our municipality lies within the traditional territories of the legwangan peoples known today as songhees and esquimalt nations and the way sanage peoples known today as sartlip pakwachen sehwut sehkum and malahat nations on behalf of the sanage police department and greater victoria police chiefs for sanage victoria oak bay central sanage and the rc and p i want to congratulate the victoria sexual assault center for being awarded a 2020 services to victims award through the ministry of public safety and solicitor generals community safety and crime prevention awards program this particular award recognizes an individual painter volunteer community group and others who demonstrated exemplary leadership in providing services and supports to victims the award was established to honor the networks of individuals and organizations across bc that work directly with victims and support women and children whose lives have been affected by violence criteria for this award is based on dedication commitment perseverance and contribution and the victoria sexual assault center is the epitome of those things with limited funding a large caseload and staff who work tirelessly to make a difference in people's lives the victoria sexual assault center has delivered compassionate and unwavering support for survivors of sexualized violence who relied on the center for counseling and support for over 37 years quarter their services is the sexual assault response team or sart through which the center has demonstrated bold commitment to a collaborative model of care to ensure the best most accessible and trauma informed care to survivors of sexualized violence this integrated clinic is just one of many examples of the exceptional work done by the victoria sexual assault center to serve their community for your leadership commitment to survivors perseverance and significant contribution to our communities we thank you on this well-deserved award congratulations our next award is the restorative justice memorial award this award recognizes commitment and two innovative partnerships that have advanced the work of restorative justice and brought caring and respectful services to victims offenders and their communities this year's recipient has provided leadership advocacy and support in the field of restorative justice for over 12 years it is my pleasure to present the 2020 restorative justice memorial award to the executive director of communities embracing restorative action society garendra man hello everyone my name is garendra man and i join you from syria british columbia i'm absolutely thrilled and delighted to receive this restorative justice memorial award i've been involved in crime prevention and community safety my entire life i've been an educator a leader an advocate for restorative justice in 2010 i became executive director for the communities embracing restorative action syria society and i'm pleased and fortunate that i've earned several accolades in this field over the past decade i'm inspired every single day by the cases that we resolve we give so many opportunities to individuals to make things right to accept responsibility and to modify their behavior i've seen firsthand the qualitative and quantitative benefits of this field and i'm encouraged and inspired by people who want to make things right i also instruct at the institute or the justice institute of british columbia and douglas college as well and i'm also inspired by the students that i see who want to utilize restorative justice in their own professions in the future i thank the ministry of public safety and solicitor general for this honor for this prestigious award it has certainly inspired me to continue my work to continue my journey in restorative justice as an advocate as an educator and as a leader thank you hygrinder i'm joining in from coquitlam which is located on the ancestral and unceded homelands of the quick quitlam first nations and coast salish peoples we are grateful for the opportunity to be on this shared territory hygrinder i am very proud of you being recognized and awarded as this year's recipient of the restorative justice memorial award it is a recognition that is well deserved your contributions and pursuit of restorative justice through sarah communities embracing restorative action in the tri cities and us minster have been outstanding i have seen your professional and passionate presentations on restorative justice to police officers at the justice institute of bc to police departments and rcmp detachments to schools in the tri cities to local government officials to building physical relationships with municipal and provincial government officials and outside agencies and especially to your commitment to turning around the behavior and lives of youth and individuals who have run around with the law to giving them a second chance but yet holding them accountable for their actions and bringing satisfaction to the victim as a retired police chief and director on the sarah board for six years i can say that i don't know anyone who has championed restorative justice more than you your dedication compassion knowledge and commitment to restorative justice makes you an outstanding ambassador to the program garynder congratulations on your deserving award i look forward to our continued working relationship all the best hello everyone i'm stacey romsmith and i'm the chair of syrah and i've had the great honor of working with garynder man for the past eight years however before i go any further i'd like to acknowledge that i'm speaking to you today from the traditional and unseated territories of the kuei kwitlam first nations i'm honored to live to work to learn and to play on these lands now i speak on behalf of the entire board of directors of syrah when i offer our sincerest congratulations to garynder for being the recipient of the restorative justice memorial award in 2020 every day day in and day out garynder goes above and beyond in his advocacy for restorative justice garynder also brings that same can-do attitude and that enthusiasm for restorative justice to the everyday operations of syrah he is frequently meeting with community leaders school administrators school teachers police agencies and crown prosecutors all in an effort to see the use of restorative justice increased in bc and across canada garynder lives and breathes restorative justice i can't think of anyone more deserving of this award again on behalf of the board of directors of syrah i offer our heartfelt congratulations to garynder for this well-deserved award thank you congratulations garynder our next award is the crime prevention and community safety award this award recognizes exemplary leadership in developing innovative projects and initiatives to promote safe communities within our province this year's winner has championed the development and implementation of programs that have enhanced services for hundreds of children youth and their families the recipient of the 2020 crime prevention and community safety award is the executive director of the victoria child abuse prevention and counseling center sander brice hello i'm sandi brice and i'm here today to share my gratitude for receiving this award this award is important to me because i was nominated by my peers those of us in leadership know that we didn't get here on our own we stand on the shoulders of others so they lift us up so we might be able to see the possibilities of the future i've been a very fortunate woman to have had the mentorship and the support for my whole career i wish all of you safety and peace thank you very much hi i am leah zoey the executive director of the treehouse child and youth advocacy center in vancouver today i send my congratulations while on the traditional ancestral and unceded territory of the coast sailage people sandi i could not have been happier to learn that you were the recipient of the crime prevention and community safety award in the words of justice ruth bader ginsberg if you want to be a true professional you will do something outside yourself something to make life a little better for people less fortunate than you that is what a meaningful life is living not for oneself but for one's community sandi you have been the consummate professional since i've had the great pleasure to know and work alongside you every ounce of your heart and your being has been devoted to the most vulnerable of victims of crime the children who have experienced about the worst of what life has to offer you have worked tirelessly to give children who have experienced abuse hope and a future change doesn't happen overnight but we are moving in the right direction in this province you have played an enormous role in ensuring all children have the systems respond to them in a coordinated way you have helped mitigate further harm to these children but most importantly you have given children the opportunity to heal from their experience and move forward in their lives in a healthy and a productive way your passion is contagious and you have started an avalanche of champions for children that will carry your vision forward so as you wind down your career know you have made a difference and rest easy knowing the rest of us have this now every enjoy every moment of your retirement it has been a hard fought and well-earned journey all the best to you hello i'm brook mclardy coordinator of the bc network of child and youth advocacy centers i am recording today from the northern part of the unceded territory of the okanagan people first of all sandy congratulations on this much deserved award you exemplify everything it means to be a true advocate for crime prevention and community safety it has been a great honor to work on the bc network of child and youth advocacy centers with you sandy you bring an unparalleled passion to this work and never deviate from your goal to seek justice for children who have been victimized whether it be sexual assault domestic violence or another crime committed against them i speak for the whole network when i say that you've used your incredible wisdom to teach us all how to best advocate for these vulnerable victims and it is because of you that we have a growing group of professionals in this province who are dedicated to responding to crimes against children the trauma informed lens coordination and above all with compassion congratulations on your award sandy congratulations sandra on this award the final award is the youth leadership award this award recognizes leadership and commitment in working with youth something that can pay a lifetime of dividends our winner this year is an individual who has shown incredible dedication to youth and crime prevention over the past 19 years the recipient of the 2020 youth leadership award is the rcmp dare program coordinator and police officer constable belgender kandola congratulations belgender hi there my name is constable bel kandola and i'm with the richmond detachment i've been a police officer now for 20 years and i've completed my service in community policing crime prevention and presently working as a school liaison officer i love the job that i do and i wake up every day wanting to come to work not too many people can say that but i can the ward was very unexpected i do the job that i love to do without thought of recognition so it was very unexpected to be able to receive the youth leadership award early on in my career i realized the real value of crime prevention and also education and awareness and i wanted to melgomate the two because i also love youth and so i was able to do that by teaching the dare program the dare program program was revamped in 2009 it's the drug abuse resistance education program is a 10 week program that we have for richmond students in grade five six we're able to teach kids the dangers of drugs alcohol vaping and marijuana we also talked to them about um resistant strategies when they are feeling pressured or peer pressured we talked to them about stress and how to deal with their stress in a positive way and also talked to them about being good citizens and we also talked to them about their help networks people that they can go to for advice for guidance and for health and as police officers we are there on their health networks and that's because we have the boots on the grounds we have officers in our schools which is so important to be able to make that rapport with these young kids it's hard to measure um crime prevention and it's difficult to be able to measure that but as a police officer i have met some wonderful young kids thousands in fact um teaching this program and i see the difference that police officers are making within the schools again i want to thank the person that nominated me for the youth leadership award and that was my staff sergeant Stephanie Ashton um i felt really supported by her and um she's been so supportive of everything i do with the program and being out in the schools teaching this program i also want to thank Richmond Detachment we feel very supported here we have a wonderful crime prevention unit and we have been putting a lot of value in schools uh with police officers being within the schools so i want to thank Richmond Detachment for that as well and again i'm humbled i'm honored to receive the youth leadership award thank you val i just want to congratulate you on receiving the youth leadership award you're very deserving and you're a committed member and i just want to thank you for all your dedication and hard work with respect to teaching our young people as to how to become better citizens and inspiring them to do the right thing and your hard work has paid off the dividends our community is so much safer because of the work you do every single day and teaching the dare of course to our great fives so on behalf of detachment and your cmp you want to thank you once again my name's larry anterman it's my great pleasure to congratulate consul bal candle as being the recipient of this year's youth leadership award bal has been the coordinator for dare in our school district since september of 2015 and she had big shoes to fill because before her were two constables in in the time that i've been here uh who had done excellent work now corporal bob sangles with e division and before him cammy walker but since taking over the role bal has been an excellent coordinator in being able to deliver the service to all 37 of our schools to my knowledge we're the only school district in the province that has every single elementary school in an annual basis received dare the enthusiasm that students and staff have when bal arrives i think it's a testament to the work she does and and and the high quality particularly when we have our dare graduation and she arrives in red surge it's always a highlight for students to be able to be part of that experience bal has also proven to be very responsive and find ways to provide the delivery even when circumstances are such that she's not able to be at the school for instance last spring when we had our distance learning experience bal went to the the trouble of creating a separate set of lessons on youtube for each and every dare lesson and they were made available for teachers to be able to provide to their students while they were in distance learning and it's proven to be a valuable resource for this school year when we have a number of students continuing to be in transition and the scheduling for dare has proven to be a bit of a a challenge and so bal has been responsive and able to be flexible enough that this is continuing to be an option for for every again every class every grade five class across the district so on behalf of the school district and behalf of all of our students and staff bal congratulations in conclusion i want to thank all of this year's award recipients once again for your exceptional service and dedication for your proactive and innovative work in supporting community safety and providing so many people with compassion strength during their times of need these examples you have set will help to inspire others to explore how they too can help make their community safer on behalf of the province your colleagues friends and neighbors we want to thank you and congratulate you for your hard work and dedication i'd also like to take a moment to acknowledge the safe communities working group who has been involved in reviewing the award nominations some representatives have joined us today in sharing greetings from their organization on behalf of plea community services we want to extend a huge congratulations to all the winners i had the chance to learn all about you and all your achievements and what you've done for individuals groups or communities and we want to thank you for all your contributions you're truly inspiring and you deserve it hi my name is gus pathogenus i'm a police officer with the rcmp currently stationed in green timbers which is our provincial headquarters i had the pleasure of reviewing all the nominations for the community safety and crime prevention awards for rich columbia while reading through the nominations a central theme emerged all the nominees were interested in helping people in their community that met a lot of hard work commitment collaboration ingenuity and creativity reading through them all was our inspiring it was deeply moved i've been working in crime prevention for a long time and uh it never surprised me what people come up with when they try to help people in their community it was really awesome to the eventual winners i want to say congratulations you're you deserve your nominations you deserve your awards and please accept the accolades thank i'm tracy portious of the ending violence association of bc i'm coming to you today from the unceded and traditional territory of the muskwi um the slawatuth and the squamish peoples it is a great honor to be invited to acknowledge the significant and profound work being done by thousands of programs volunteers and staff in bc that respond to violent crime this year among many nominees and award recipients are no less than three of eva bc's longtime friends and colleagues lienne rich of bc women's hospital sexual assault program the victoria sexual assault center and sandi brice of the victoria child abuse prevention and counseling programs together with all of the other recipients you make up the best of our society because of you our province is safer and more dignified with all of my profound thanks bravo hello my name is ian betie i'm the executive director of police victim services of british colombia on behalf of caron french our president and also the rest of our board of directors we are very pleased to be able to participate in this year's virtual community safety and crime prevention annual award ceremony pvs bc is the primary advocate and representative of all 90 individual police based victim services organizations and the over 325 frontline service workers throughout the province of british colombia on behalf of all our members and partner in stakeholder police and community agencies but most importantly all of the individual and families whose lives have been deeply impacted due to criminality and trauma we extend our congratulations to all of the nominees and winners your exceptional dedication passion energy and ongoing commitment ensuring your vital services are available and provided to victims is very worthy of this special recognition provided by these awards the trust and leadership you have provided to your community particularly during the pandemic has been terrific and is inspiring to us all please accept our congratulations for a job exceedingly well done on behalf of all members of the police based victim services community and sector please take care be safe and healthy and finally a heartfelt thank you to all of our viewers for joining us here today in honoring the recipients of the 2020 community safety and crime prevention awards thank you everyone