Mr. Speaker, the Marlene Jennings Service Award will be launched later today in Montreal.
The Hon. Marlene Jennings, the former member of Parliament for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, is an incredible role model for anyone who aspires to serve their country, their community or their peers. I should know. She was my mentor when I was first elected and remains my sis friend to this day.
This award establishes a new recognition model that directly reflects Marlene Jennings' leadership style: collaborative, community focused, rule-breaking when necessary and always centred on empowering others. By shining a light on these change-makers and providing unrestricted funding, the proponents are not just celebrating those who serve so generously; they are accelerating their work and signalling to others that this different way of leading matters.
I do not have time to go into detail about all of the criteria for this award, which honours unsung Quebeckers, but I thought it would be a good idea for Canada to draw inspiration from this initiative to acknowledge everything that our fellow citizens do to make our communities so resilient.