Meritorious Service Medal

• Awarded on: June 25, 2001
• Invested on: October 12, 2001

Janet Conners, M.S.M., Hatchet Lake, N.S.
Randal Duane Conners, M.S.M. (Posthumous), Hatchet Lake, N.S.
Meritorious Service Medal (civil division)

In 1992, Janet and Randy Conners became the driving force in the crusade to obtain government compensation for hemophiliac victims infected with the HIV virus through tainted blood products. Mr. Conners contracted HIV in 1985 and Mrs. Conners was diagnosed with the same virus a few years later. To raise public awareness on the issue, they turned their own tragedy into a search for justice and their efforts resulted in Nova Scotia agreeing to compensate infected spouses and children with HIV. A federal inquiry on the contamination of the blood system also began before Mr. Conners’ death in September 1994. As an AIDS educator and activist, Mrs. Conners continues her crusade to further the cause of hemophiliac Canadians infected by blood products and facing imminent death.