Meritorious Service Medal
Awarded on: 2004-04-26
Invested on: 2004-11-26
Heather Crowe, M.S.M., Ottawa, Ontario
Meritorious Service Medal (civil division)
Heather Crowe, a waitress for 40 years and a non-smoker, was diagnosed in the fall of 2002 with inoperable lung cancer caused by her lifelong occupational exposure to second-hand smoke. Despite her precarious health, she has since traveled across Canada to meet government officials, health workers and community activists, to encourage improvements in workers’ protection from tobacco smoke. Ms. Crowe’s experience also inspired a powerful media drive to help create smoke-free workplaces and to promote the importance of occupational health and safety everywhere in Canada.