Member of the Order of Canada
Awarded on: 2023-11-14
Invested on: 2024-12-12
John Andrew Olthuis, C.M.
Toronto, Ontario
John Olthuis is an Indigenous rights lawyer dedicated to advancing reconciliation in Canada. He represented First Nations in major negotiations, including as counsel for the Chiefs of Ontario and as negotiator for the Assembly of First Nations in the Charlottetown Accord. For more than five decades, he influenced government policies in favour of Indigenous peoples’ self-determination and their decolonization efforts, and has mentored the next generation of lawyers.