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The Order Of Canada Is A Curious Affair

When REAL Women took a close look at the Order of Canada - very much as Alice found in Wonderland - things got "curioser and curioser."

Our interest in this Canadian honour was peaked when the name Sue Johanson, queen of Women's Television (WTN) Sunday night sex show, was included in the list of those to receive the Order of Canada this year. Ms. Johanson has been in the sex education business for over 20 years, dispatching her dubious advice, complete with lascivious nods and winks, to adolescents and others.

Her TV program, however, is a sexual "no-brainer." She fondles her "pleasure toys" and dispenses advice on sex in often vulgar and obscene street language.

We wondered what great service Ms. Johanson had contributed to Canada, since sex education programs for adolescents would appear to have been a failure. Certainly, they have had little impact on reducing pregnancies. For example, according to Statistics Canada, in 1997 there were 42,162 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 years who became pregnant. Also, for the first time, the number of these pregnancies ending in abortion surpassed the number of live births. Further, girls aged 15 - 19 years suffer from the highest rate of sexually transmitted infections in the country. Clearly, the how-to-go-for-it sex instruction provided by Ms. Johanson has not been a winner. The question then is: Who on earth would ever choose this woman for the Order of Canada - for any honour as a matter of fact?

As a result, we decided to investigate the Order of Canada to determine what it is about, who selects the candidates, and by what criteria they are selected. It was no surprise to discover how linked to political correctness the Order of Canada has become.

Background to the Order of Canada

Canadian governments have been squeamish about accepting British honours for at least 80 years. In 1919, the Conservative MP from Kingston, Ontario, Mr. William Nickle, brought forward a resolution, passed by the House of Commons on May 22, 1919, that His Majesty (George V) henceforth "refrain from conferring any title of honour or titular distinction upon any of your subjects domiciled or ordinarily resident in Canada." Interestingly, this resolution was never brought before the Senate for practical reasons - namely, that it would have faced certain defeat there. Consequently it remained a resolution of the House of Commons only.

In February 1929, a debate was held on the issue in the House of Commons, under Liberal Prime Minister MacKenzie King, as to whether the Nickle Resolution should be reconsidered. This motion was defeated on February 14, 1929.

However, four years later, on May 17, 1933, then Conservative Prime Minister Richard B. Bennett, advised the House of Commons that the Nickle Resolution had, in fact, no force or effect because it was a Resolution of the House of Commons only and that such resolutions end when Parliament is dissolved. He stated (Hansard page 5126, May 17, 1933) as follows:

Significantly, a vote was called on March 14, 1934, on a private member's Bill to require the Prime Minister to cease making recommendations for British titles. The resolution was defeated 113 to 94. Thus, the House of Commons appears, by this vote, to have overridden the Nickle Resolution in its attempt to prevent the Royal Prerogative of granting titles to Canadians. This is the last time that Parliament ever voted on the issue.

When Mr. Bennett was defeated in the 1935 federal election, he retired to live out the rest of his life in Britain, having himself been granted a British title, Viscount Bennett of Mickleham, Calgary and Hopewell. Mr. Bennett had practised law in Calgary for many years and Hopewell was the name of the village in New Brunswick where he was born and raised.

Liberal Prime Minister MacKenzie King, upon his re-election in the 1935 election, reversed Bennett's position on British titles for Canadians, ignored the 1934 vote in the House of Commons, and declared the policy henceforth was that Canadians would not receive British titles. That appeared to be the end of the matter. The governments of Prime Minister Pearson in 1968, for example, and Prime Minister Mulroney in 1988, both adopted policies reflecting the direction of the Nickle Resolution. These policies provided that foreign governments seeking to give honours and distinctions to Canadian citizens must first seek the approval of the Government of Canada.

Interestingly, it was this 1919 Nickle Resolution that Prime Minister Chrétien used to support his rejection of a British title for Canadian National Post founder, Conrad Black. One hopes that Mr. Chrétien might continue to so honour other resolutions passed in the House of Commons. For example, how about the resolution of June 8, 1999 which provided that marriages should be restricted to a union between a man and a woman only? (See Reality July/August 1999, page 1, "Parliament Upholds Traditional Marriage.")

However, to the PM's surprise in June of this year, two men, (one of whom was born in Canada), but both holding dual British and Canadian citizenships, were granted titles by the Queen. Mr. Chrétien, incensed about British Prime Minister Blair's "lack of consultation," in an angry letter to Mr. Blair, reminded him of the now-famous Nickle Resolution (even though apparently overridden by a later vote of the House of Commons), and stated that "conferring titles on Canadians is not compatible with the ideals of democracy as they have developed in Canada."

The fact is, however, these two recent recipients of the British titles had dual British and Canadian citizenships. Although Mr. Black did not have British (dual) citizenship at the time he first sought a title, he had acquired (dual) British citizenship before Mr. Chrétien spoke out against his receiving a title. It all seems quite bizarre.

The British government clearly regards those with dual British and Canadian citizenships as its own and believes there is no necessity to "consult" the Canadian government before bestowing titles on them. Except, of course, in the case of Conrad Black, since British Prime Minister Blair retracted his recommendation for Mr. Black's title at Prime Minister Chrétien's insistence.

Perhaps the most sensible response about this controversial issue was made by Alliance leader, Stockwell Day who suggested that the issue of titles should cease to be a matter of an arbitrary policy decision by a Prime Minister, but should instead be a decision to be debated and agreed upon by Parliament. After all, the last parliamentary debate on the matter was nearly 70 years ago, in 1934, and it would not be unreasonable for Parliament and the Canadian public to have some say on the matter.

The Order of Canada - 1967

Since Canadians are seemingly unable to receive British titles by way of Prime Ministerial edict, it was believed that Canada should provide some recognition for the achievements of individual Canadians; thus, in 1967, the Order of Canada was established. It provided three different levels of membership to honour significant achievements of Canadians. The levels are:

• Member (C.M.) for outstanding accomplishments of local or regional significance.
• Officer (O.C) for outstanding accomplishments of national significance
• Companion (C.C.) for exceptional accomplishments of national or international significance.

Since 1967, over 4,000 Canadians have been honoured with the Order of Canada. The names of new appointments to the Order are made twice each year, on New Year's Day and Canada Day. The award ceremony takes place three times a year at Rideau Hall and the Parliamentary Cable Channel (CPAC) televises the ceremonies.

REAL Women has now had the opportunity to review the recipients of the Order of Canada for the past ten years, and it appears that politically correct activists are abundantly honoured by the award. For example, those active in environmental matters, aboriginal and, of course, women's rights issues receive the award in large numbers. Many high-profile feminists, especially, have been Order of Canada recipients.

Anyone may nominate another person for the award (the Governor General at Rideau Hall, Ottawa, provides the nomination forms). The nominations are then reviewed by an Advisory Council, which is chaired by the Chief Justice of Canada (currently feminist Chief Justice Beverly MacLachlin). Even though politics is not supposed to be involved in the selection process, this is not the case. The Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet (who is answerable to Prime Minister Chrétien) and the Deputy Minister of the Department of Canadian Heritage (who is answerable to his Minister, Sheila Copps) both sit on the Advisory Committee and assuredly act in accordance with directions from their respective bosses. In fact, politics appears to be an important component of the Order of Canada awards, as evidenced by the large number of retired Prime Ministers, federal party organizers and strategists and Cabinet ministers, as well as an astonishing number of NDP politicians and activists (9) who have been awarded the Order of Canada in the past ten years. Several former Clerks of the Privy Council have also managed to have themselves recognized with the award. Others on the Advisory Committee include the Chairperson of the Canada Arts Council, the President of the Royal Society of Canada and the Chairperson of the Association of Universities and Colleges.

The Chancellor of the Order is the Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson. Ms. Clarkson herself received the designation of "Officer" of the Order in Council in 1992, but was upgraded to "Companion" on September 28, 1999. There is usually a 4-6 month waiting period before the appointment and investiture. However, Ms. Clarkson was named and invested with the award in an unprecedented hurry, in just 5 days, on October 3, 1999. This occurred only three days before she was installed as Governor General. Her long time companion, John Ralston Saul (whom she married just prior to her appointment), also became a "Companion" of the Order of Canada on that same day (October 7, 1999.)

The Governor General appoints to the Advisory Council two other individuals of her choice who were previous recipients of the Order of Canada. Thus, the Prime Minister, who appoints the Governor General, together with the Governor General and the Privy Council and Heritage Department have the controlling votes as to who receives the Order of Canada.

Moreover, according to information received from the Director of Information at Rideau Hall, the Governor General need not necessarily accept the recommendations of her Advisory Council - as she may demand a "clarification" (make objections) of its recommendations. Hence, her vote seems to be the final deciding one.

The majority of recipients of the Order are known only to their friends and families, especially those honoured as Members for regional or local contributions. Those who are well-known include Canadian writers such as Margaret Attwood and left-wing journalists such as Peter Gzowski, Pierre Berton and June Callwood. (The latter has the talent to spot every trend as it comes along, whether it be abortion, feminism, or AIDS, which obviously makes her worthy of this award.) These left-wing celebrities have all been given the highest category of the award, as "Companions." Prominent conservative journalists, however, such as David Frum, the Byfields (publisher of the National Report), Lorne Gunter (Edmonton Journal), Peter Stockland (Editor, Montreal Gazette) and columnists Rory Leishman (London Free Press), Charles Moore (Guysborough Journal), and Peter Worthington and Bob MacDonald (Toronto Sun), George Jonas and Mark Steyn (National Post), Claire Hoy (Law Times) and Michael Coren (CTS-Christian Television System) have never been recognized by an Order of Canada.

Former left wing Liberal MP, and 30-year veteran of the House of Commons, Warren Allmand, who broke ranks with his party in 1995 over the budget, which he viewed as being too conservative, received the Order of Canada in 2000. He is now Head of the International Centre for Human Rights in Montreal, previously headed by former federal NDP leader, Ed Broadbent. Mr. Broadbent received his Order of Canada in 1993. (This International Centre works avidly for human rights and, in particular, feminist rights world-wide.)

Another former Liberal MP, former Secretary of State and party organizer, and now Senator, appointed in 1997, Serge Joyal, was invested as an "Officer" of the Order of Canada in 1997. Mr. Joyal is well-known as the homosexual Senator who took a leadership role in the Senate in pushing Bill C-23 (homosexual benefits) through that Chamber.

One would think that at least a few socially conservative individuals would have managed, over the years, to have slipped through the selection process of the Order of Canada. If they have, it is not because of their Conservative views! For example, Professor Bert Brockhouse, a 1994 Nobel prize winner in Physics, is a member of the Hamilton Right to Life Association (his wife, Doris, was a former president of the organization) was awarded the Order of Canada as an "Officer" in 1982 but became a "Companion" in 1995. Clearly he was not recognized for his pro-life/family views. In fact, in reviewing the hundreds of awards given over the past ten years, we were only able to identify three others who hold a conservative perspective on issues. They were Professor Abbyann Lynch, formerly a professor at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto and more recently professor of Ethics at the University of Western Ontario; Doug Roche former Minister of Disarmament who, as a former Edmonton Conservative MP, opposed abortion; and Robert Salter, orthopaedic surgeon at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, who also publicly opposed abortion.

There are many active conservative thinkers who have not been recognized by an Order of Canada. Among these are Professor Donald de Marco, St. Jerome's College, University of Waterloo; Professor David Dooley, former head of English, St. Michael's College, University of Toronto; and Professor Ian Hunter, Professor Emeritus, University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law. Retired paediatric oncologist, Dr. Barrie de Veber and retired radiologist and ethicist, Dr. John Shea have never been acknowledged for their outstanding contributions, both in medicine and on ethical issues. Authors such as William Gairdner who has published seven books, including the wonderful "The War Against the Family," "The Trouble with Canada," and his most recent book, "Trouble with Democracy," and Betty Steele, author of the "The Feminist Takeover," and "Together Again," have never been publicly acknowledged for their contributions by an Order of Canada. The list of such names is endless.

Conclusion

Having reviewed the selection process for appointments to the Order of Canada and those who have been selected to receive this award, we can now understand why those with a conservative perspective have not received the Order of Canada. We can also understand why Ms. Johanson was singled out for this recognition. Her achievements fall well within the perspective of the politically correct activism so admired by Prime Minister Chrétien and, of course, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.

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