Caring Canadian Award Presentation Ceremony

Katie Fitzgerald (St. Albert, Alberta) believes that you are never too young to start volunteering. She has been actively involved in the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games, the Clean-up the Sturgeon River Project, and the Second Chance Animal Rescue Society. She has also participated in a number of fundraising events, including the 30-Hour Famine. In 2012, she helped create SOARING, a group that encourages young people to get involved in their community.

Dans le cadre du programme du gouverneur général soulignant la Semaine de l’action bénévole, Son Excellence a remis le Prix du Gouverneur général pour l’entraide à 46 bénévoles de partout au pays et issus de tous les milieux de la société lors d’une cérémonie à Rideau Hall.

Created in 1995, the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award recognizes living Canadians and permanent residents who have made a significant, sustained, unpaid contribution to their community, in Canada or abroad.

Wilfred Edmond (Donkin, Nova Scotia) has been a mainstay in his community for over half a century. He served for 35 years as a volunteer firefighter, as well as a coach of minor hockey and baseball. This decorated veteran has been an active member of the Royal Canadian Legion at all levels. A talented singer, he toured with The Men of the Deeps coal miners choir throughout Canada and the United States. He continues to sing with the Cape Breton Legionnaires Choir on visits to hospitals and seniors’ homes.

Bob Putko (Flin Flon, Manitoba) is dedicated to helping seniors in his community. He volunteers at bingo and games nights at the Northern Lights Manor seniors' centre, and drives residents to appointments throughout the city. He is an active force with Meals on Wheels and the Simonhouse Bible Camp. When he discovered both Simonhouse and the Northern Lights Manor were lacking in a recycling program, he started his own to promote waste reduction.

Landry Signé (Montréal, Quebec) is a volunteer who is dedicated to improving African society. He is the chairman and co-founder of the Global Network for Africa’s Prosperity, a non-profit organization based in Montréal. The Network comprises over 3 000 organizations in over 40 countries, with the objective of improving basic living conditions. The organizations facilitate access to education and technology, while generating economic and social opportunities for disadvantaged persons. He also chaired the Vogt Red Cross Club, and organized first aid training and vaccination campaigns for 2 000 students in Africa.

Robert Thibault (Moncton, New Brunswick) has been serving his community for the past 40 years. He volunteers with a variety of organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Moncton; the Heart and Stroke Foundation; the Canadian Cancer Society; the Kiwanis Club; and Nazareth House, a free, short-term homeless shelter. In addition, he has been the bingo caller at the Villa du Repos seniors’ residence on Tuesday evenings for the past 20 years.

Candace Thorne (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Edmonton, Alberta) is dedicated to supporting military families. She first volunteered with the Military Family Resource Centre in Comox, B.C. In March 2010, she joined the National Military Family Council, where her skills and experience, combined with a passion for family support, meant she could speak on behalf of military families to the senior leadership of the Canadian Armed Forces. She raised awareness of such key issues as child care, mental and physical health, employment, and access to support services.

At the end of the ceremony, the national anthem was sung by Mr. Garth Hampson.