Esprit de Corps magazine, in conjunction with the Commissionaires organization, hosted the second annual “Breaking Down the Barricades” Awards Reception for the fourth year of award recipients recognizing women of excellence in the military and defence industries fields. It was held in the Jean Piggott Hall of the Ottawa City Hall on Monday, 9th April, 2018, and was attended by Her Excellency the Governor-General (HEGG), Julie Payette, and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Jonathan Vance.
HEGG opened the event with remarks recounting some of her experiences as a woman in these fields. She told of reading an article by a female US Marine Officer as to why women shouldn’t be infantry officers in the Marines, citing adverse effects on camaraderie , requirements for differing facilities, effects on decision making, which on the surface, sounded quite reasonable and convincing. But then she thought, “I went to space on my second flight with only guys. We shared the same facilities, the same airspace really. But more importantly, we were all there for the same reason. Because we had earned our ticket to be space craft operators. And that is the defining difference – competence. This is not about quota, it’s not about gender, it’s not about the colour of your skin, it’s not about the language you spoke when you were little. It’s about what you can contribute.”. Later she went on to say that these recipients were being honoured tonight, “… not because you’re diversity – because you are good – because you’re competent – because you have done extra-ordinary things.”.
Following the plaque presentations to the award recipients, Gen. Vance took the podium to express his congratulations and thanks to the ladies for the contributions noting that “ … you’ve succeeded in spite of any roadblocks that were placed in your way. And perhaps those roadblocks were the kind that your male counterparts didn’t face.”.
Lastly, a toast was made my Sandra Perron, who was also the first Canadian female infantry officer and is now representing the Commissionaires, who toasted, “ Long Live Strong Women!”.
With the awards ceremony now concluded, everyone went on to sample the food and drinks supplied by several of the embassies in Ottawa including the Turkish, Korean, Russian, and Chinese embassies.
For more on this story, head over to Esprit de Corps magazine.
To see all the pictures of the award recipients, CLICK HERE
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