Order of Canada Ceremony

Their Excellencies are pictured with the 45 recipients that were invested into the Order of Canada on September 16, 2011.

Brian Haynes (Dundas, Ontario) is a world leader in health informatics. He is one of the originators of evidence-based medicine and has contributed to the evolution of clinical medicine in Canada and abroad. Founder and chief of the Health Information Research Unit at McMaster University and a highly respected innovator, he has developed several services to facilitate ready access to high-quality research, including a health knowledge refinery, and customized alerting services for physicians, nurses and rehabilitation professionals. By improving how information is identified, selected and presented to clinicians, he has significantly improved knowledge sharing, clinical decision making and patient care worldwide.

James Orbinski (Toronto, Ontario) has spent his career combining medicine with humanitarianism. Through his numerous roles with Médecins Sans Frontières, including that of president, and as co-founder of Dignitas International, he has improved health care delivery and made medicine more accessible for some of the most vulnerable people in the world. Committed to building a more compassionate society, he has raised awareness of global humanitarian crises, and has been a witness for those who have been silenced by war, genocide and starvation. He remains an influential and inspiring figure who challenges everyone to join him in advocating for a more just, safe and peaceful world.

Julie Payette (Montréal, Quebec) is a source of inspiration and a remarkable international ambassador for Canadian engineering. Both an engineer and an astronaut, she has two space missions to her credit. She is the first Canadian to board the International Space Station and to take part in its assembly by operating the Canadian robotic arms. She is also the first woman to serve as lead communicator between the ground controllers at the Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, and the astronauts in flight. She has held various positions with the Canadian Space Agency, including chief astronaut for several years. Known for her warm personality and talent as an orator, she is in demand as a speaker and is an extraordinary role model for women and young people.

Shelagh Rogers (Vancouver, British Columbia) is a passionate journalist, activist and promoter of all things Canadian. A nationally renowned radio broadcaster, she is best known for hosting the CBC’s “This Morning” and “Sounds Like Canada.” Also highly regarded for her advocacy work, she has spoken out to help destigmatize mental illness, and has raised awareness and funds for adult literacy initiatives. She now champions reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people as an honorary witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Marthe Asselin-Vaillancourt (Saguenay, Quebec) has been actively engaged in the betterment of society for nearly 50 years. A champion of several causes, she helped to establish a shelter for abused women, held leading positions with the Fédération des femmes du Québec, and helped to set up a network of crime victims assistance centres in Quebec. Her efforts to promote greater social justice also led her to co-chair the Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women, and to share her leadership expertise with the Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées.

Known as the father of social pediatrics in Quebec, Gilles Julien (Montréal, Quebec) works to improve the health and living conditions of at-risk children. He developed a global approach and set up centres for social pediatrics that offer children and their families a range of services. Working with schools, communities, the legal profession and hospitals, he fights poverty, exclusion, drop-out rates and violence against children. He also founded and chairs a foundation that bears his name, and has published several works, including Soigner différemment les enfants.

Jamie Kennedy (Toronto, Ontario) is a leader in the culinary arts. Throughout his three decades as a chef, he has been one of the first to promote Canadian cuisine in restaurants, and proudly supports local producers, sustainable agriculture and the consumption of organic food. He has co-founded such organizations as the Endangered Fish Alliance, which encourages Canadians not to eat endangered types of fish, and Feast of Fields, an advocacy group that promotes organic food through the establishment of Toronto’s first organic farmers’ market. A generous mentor, he has trained many apprentices to whom he has passed on his values.

Edwina Wetzel (Conne River, Newfoundland and Labrador) empowers her community through education. When the Conne River First Nation assumed control of its own pedagogical system in 1986, she was named director of education. Since then, her insightful guidance has been pivotal to the development of a modern education system that has incorporated Mi’kmaq history, language and cultural values into the curriculum. She also made adult education a priority, providing skills upgrading for band members of all ages, which resulted in economic growth in the community. As well, she has been involved with various organizations, such as the National Indigenous Literacy Association.