A former prime minister, a nun, a movie director, a professor of volcanology, an Inuk leader and a ballerina are among the 120 new appointments to the Order of Canada announced Friday by the Governor-General.
The twice-yearly announcement of one of the country’s highest civilian honours elevates Stephen Harper to the award’s highest tier: Companion of the Order of Canada.
He is joined in that distinction by Donna Strickland, the University of Waterloo professor who last year became just the third woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics for her research on lasers.
Joan Hollobon, The Globe and Mail’s medical reporter from 1959 until she retired in 1985, was recognized “for her career in journalism focused on increasing the public’s understanding of scientific concepts related to health and medical advances.”
Globe publisher and chief executive officer Phillip Crawley was made a Member of the Order “for his contributions to journalism and for his innovative leadership in the news publishing industry.” He said there were many people who should be sharing the honour with him.
“I’ve been in the business for more than 50 years and have been blessed by the support and guidance of colleagues, some no longer with us,” he said. “I want to thank the staff of The Globe and Mail over the last 21 years ... I stand on their shoulders. And I want to thank especially my wife and family ... success is only possible through them having my back. This recognition is a tribute to all of the above, and to Canada, a land of opportunity and fairness.”
The arts were well-represented by Xavier Dolan, the Quebec filmmaker who has directed critical favourites such as Mommy and Laurence Anyways; and James Cameron, director of movie blockbusters such as Avatar and Titanic.
The Governor-General also recognized the work of many people not previously well known to most Canadians, such as Sister Sue Mosteller, who for decades helped lead L’Arche, the organization for people with intellectual disabilities.
Sister Mosteller said learning of her appointment was a “shock” and that, as an introvert, she considered whether it was possible to turn the distinction down. “One of the beatitudes says ‘Blessed are the poor,’ and it doesn’t say ‘Blessed are those who care for the poor,’ ” she noted.
But the thought of how much she was given by those with disabilities convinced her to accept. “That came to me quickly and it was really in the name of all these people that I was moved to say yes to this.”
Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg, a distinguished professor at the University of Manitoba, was honoured for decades of work advancing the screening and treatment of rare genetic disorders among Indigenous populations and the Hutterite and Mennonite communities.
“I am completely overwhelmed and humbled by this honour," she said. "In this day and age, as we grapple with the crises of poverty, homelessness and climate change, to be recognized for being a doctor who works to improve the lives of individuals with very rare genetic disorders and their families sends a very important message: that Canada is committed to fairness and equitable access to new diagnostic tests and to new proven treatments for all Canadians.”
Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams of the Lil’wat Nation in British Columbia was appointed to the Order for her work in Indigenous education and cultural revitalization.
“It is an honour to be accepting the Order of Canada,” she said. “I am especially grateful to those who nominated me and those who acknowledge my work with keeping Indigenous languages thriving and Indigenous knowledge systems in action.”
COMPANIONS OF THE ORDER OF CANADA
James Francis Cameron of Saskatoon and Los Angeles
Raymond A. J. Chrétien of Montréal (This is a promotion within the Order.)
George A. Cohon of Toronto and Moscow (This is a promotion within the Order.)
The Right Honourable Stephen Joseph Harper of Calgary
Donna Theo Strickland of Waterloo
OFFICERS OF THE ORDER OF CANADA
John Amagoalik of Iqaluit, Nunavut
Annette av Paul of Montreal and Stratford, Ont.
Raymond Bachand of Montreal
David Osborn Braley of Hamilton
Eddy Carmack of Saanichton, B.C.
John J. Clague of Vancouver
Slava Corn of Toronto
Jean-Charles Coutu of Rouyn-Noranda, Que.
Donald Bruce Dingwell of Corner Brook, N.L., and Munich, Germany
Michael Donovan of Halifax
Alain-G. Gagnon of Montreal
The Honourable Daniel Hays of Calgary and Ottawa
Mark Henkelman of Toronto
Joan May Hollobon of Toronto
Daniel Jutras of Montreal
Shoo Kim Lee of Toronto
Thomas E. H. Lee of Victoria and Ottawa
Noni MacDonald of Halifax
Robie W. Macdonald of Victoria
Robin McLeod of Toronto
André Ménard of Montreal
Karen Messing of Montreal
Christine M. Morrissey of Vancouver
Sister Sue M. Mosteller of Toronto
Donald Kenneth Newman of Ottawa (This is a promotion in the Order)
Caroline Ouellette of Montreal
François Paulette of Denendeh (Fort Smith), N.W.T., and Fitzgerald, Alta.
Debra Pepler of Toronto
Heather Maxine Reisman of Toronto (This is a promotion in the Order.)
Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg of Winnipeg
Marcel Sabourin of Montreal
The Reverend Dr. James V. Scott of Ottawa and Toronto
Alain Simard of Montreal
Gilles Ste-Croix of Montreal and Mexico City
Joseph Svoboda of Toronto and Baker Lake, Nunavut
Lorna Wanosts’a7 Williams of Victoria
James V. Zidek of Vancouver
Bernard Zinman of Toronto (This is a promotion in the Order.)
MEMBERS OF THE ORDER OF CANADA
Pita Aatami of Kuujjuaq, Que.
Brian Ahern of Halifax and Nashville, Tenn.
Mathew Baldwin of Edmonton
T. Robert Beamish of Mississauga
Ronald Duncan Besse of Toronto
Paul Born of Waterloo
Maurice Brisson of Montreal
Omer Chouinard of Moncton
Diane Clement of Vancouver
Mitchell Cohen of Toronto
John Collins of Hamilton
The Honourable James Cowan of Halifax and Ottawa
Phillip Crawley of Toronto
Valerie Lynn Creighton of Regina and Toronto
Anne Innis Dagg of Waterloo, Ont., and Hoedspruit, South Africa
Mary Eberle Deacon of Toronto
The Reverend Dr. Cheri DiNovo of Toronto
Xavier Dolan of Montreal
Hugo Eppich of Vancouver
Wayne John Fairhead of Toronto
Ronald Charles Fellows of Toronto
Thomas J. Foran of St. John’s
Eric D. Friesen of Toronto and Ottawa
Berna Valencia Garron, C.M., and Myron Austin Garron of Toronto
Hana Gartner of Toronto
Marie Giguère of Montreal
Katherine Govier of Toronto and Canmore, Alta.
Brigadier-General the Honourable John James Grant (Ret’d) of Halifax
Ken Greenberg of Toronto
Roger D. Grimes of St. John’s
Arshavir Gundjian of Montreal
Sarah Hall of Toronto
Pavel Hamet of Montreal
Peter Harrison of Ottawa
Joyce Louise Hisey of Toronto
Gordon J. Hoffman of Calgary
Steve E. Hrudey of Edmonton
John S. Hunkin of Toronto
Johnny Nurraq Seotaituq Issaluk of Igluligaarjuk and Iqaluit, Nunavut
Peter Kendall of Woodbridge, Ont.
Hal Philip Klepak of Ottawa
Alcides Lanza of Montreal
Cathy Levy of Ottawa
Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia of Vancouver
Derek Lister of Chalk River, Ont., and Fredericton, N.B.
Julie Macfarlane of Windsor
Isabelle Marcoux of Montreal
R. Mohan Mathur of London, Ont.
Donald S. Mavinic of Vancouver
Denyse McCann of Montreal
Séan McCann of Ottawa and St. John’s
Brian Theodore McGeer of Vancouver and Bingen, Wash.
Stuart M. McGill of Waterloo
Anthony Bernard Miller of Toronto
Nadir H. Mohamed of Toronto
Susan Helena Mortimer of Toronto
M. Lee Myers of London, Ont.
Paul Nicklen of Victoria and Kimmirut, Nunavut
The Honourable Donald H. Oliver of Halifax and Ottawa
Brian Stuart Osborne of Kingston
Louis-Frédéric Paquin of Saint-Boniface, Man.
Ralph Pentland of Ottawa
Michael U. Potter of Ottawa
Robert Dick Richmond of Toronto and Montreal
Larry Rosen of Toronto
Janice Sanderson of Winnipeg
Kourken Sarkissian of Toronto
Duncan Gordon Sinclair of Kingston
Harry Sheldon Swain of Ottawa
Beverly Thomson of Toronto
Darren Dennis Throop of Halifax and Toronto
Jennifer Tory of Toronto
Gordon W. Walker of Toronto
Mel Watkins of Toronto
Sheri-D Wilson of Calgary and Vancouver
Lynn Margaret Zimmer of Peterborough, Ont.