Order Of Some Canadians Are More Politically Appreciated Than Others

56 Replies to “Order Of Some Canadians Are More Politically Appreciated Than Others”

1. Was it Mark Twain that once said something to the effect of “I would not want to be a member of any organization that would accept me as a member.” Perhaps Don and the rest feel somewhat vindicated not being included with the likes of Mr. Fruitfly (Suzuki) et al.
   Kate would your life be enriched if you were recognized up there with Attwood and the gang? Mine wouldn’t.
   In all seriousness, I absolutely love the SDA site, Kate. Congrats on the ’06 weblog awards.
   Have a great New Year.
   CRB

2. You are right Kate, the National Newswatch is a decent enough internet news aggregator but sadly we still do not know who the principals are behind the site.
   Something some of us would appreciate knowing.
   As the ‘Billy Joel’ song says “It’s A matter of Trust.”
   Time will tell.

3. I nominate writer George Jonas !

4. Kate, if you are referring to “Big Challenges for Harper in 07,” yes I read the piece. Sorry, but Conservatives aren’t “scared”, no matter how much this Canadian Press reporter wishes. They can fight an election on the environment and Afghan, especially given the non-positions of their opponents. Kim Campbell was wrong, elections are for explaining sometimes complex issues, so bring it on.
   I doubt Harper will engineer his own defeat, despite the Liberal’s fondest wishes, so a Fall election may result.
   Dion can take no comfort in the Conservative’s environment record, given the inaction of the Liberals, and later he as environment minister. If the Conservatives have done nothing, then Liberals have done twelve times nothing (Sun Cartoon today).
   The opposition positions on Afghanistan are pathetic. Their only hope is to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate by arguing we are doing no good (we are doing lots!), our casualties are too high (nobody likes casualties but they are very low considering we telegraph our intentions to enemy), or we have no hope of winning (too bad the Liberals committed troops to south initially, what did they think, it was a tea party?). Canadians are rightfully proud of our military forces (thanks to Don & Adrienne Clarkson), so they can be swayed by evidence we are doing a lot of good (more than half of our casualties involved in reconstruction, BTW). While we’re not likely to defeat international Islamist terrorism, especially given porous Pakistani border, we can deal the Islamist rogues a serious strategic defeat, seriously degrading their capability and threshold for homeland attacks.
   One never knows how this type of an election may result, and these are dynanic and volatile issues. Al Gore may make another movie or, God forbid, we could lose 20 guys in one attack.
   I hope Canadians have the mettle for both these issues. If they do, I believe Mr Harper will prevail, though possibly still in minority.
   We will see.

5. I think they give out too many of those things. There’s so many of them handed out, the value of them is questionable.

6. Soccormom,
   Unfortunately, the OOC has taken on the dubious distinction of the “thanks for coming out medal”
   I can only think of one other medal, the German war merit cross, that was awarded more frivolously and without regard for true merit..

7. Seriously, though, I think we should get up a petition to get Stephen Taylor nominated for the Order, for “his positive contributions in establishing a Canadian presence in the worldwide online community.” (Hey, the worst they can do is say no.)

8. The most pertinent point hinted at in Warmington’s column is that to receive an Order of Canada Award one must first be nominated. And nominations are best done by those who know the nominee well and, not insignificantly, have a clue about how to write a recommendation that stands a chance of acceptance.
   It should be easy to write a successful nomination for Don Cherry. So you have to wonder if any of his friends or colleagues have ever submitted one.

9. It’s shameful and apalling how the Liberal Party of Canada exercised the nerve to hijack what could’ve been a great honor by using it to reward people for being leftists and/or loyal Liberals, etc.
   They used the Order of Canada Award to send a message that pretty much only those who toe the party line count as good Canadians.
   It also annoyed me that the Order was handed out in massive numbers pretty much whenever the Liberals felt like it.
   The frequent awarding smacked of grandstanding, a shameless look-at-us-we’re-better-than-you ceremony with all the haughty, snooty pomp and circumstance…
   The Liberals have tarnished and sullied the reputation of the Order of Canada, as they did to Canada herself under Liberal rule.
   I pray that the Liberals are not elected again at least for a very, very long time… for the sake of Canada. The Liberals only exploit Canada and Canadians for their own personal enrichment and really couldn’t care less about anyone else!

10. And I agree that National Newswatch is an excellent aggregator site. It’s often my first stop of the day in surfing, aside from my own site, of course! 😉

11. Perhaps Mr. Cherry takes as much enjoyment as I do from that little CBC exercise a couple of years ago called “Greatest Canadian” where he finished 7th and anybody considered “Greater” than him was Dead. Greatest Living Canadian, and declared so by the CBC. That must still stick in the craw of the show’s planners.
    Perhaps we could design a nice gold lapel pin that states his rank in our hearts. (of course it would have to be a fairly large pin so as not to get lost in those vast lapels) It may mean more of an honour to him than the liberally devalued Order of Canada.

12. “Was it Mark Twain that once said something to the effect of “I would not want to be a member of any organization that would accept me as a member.”
    Actually, it was Groucho Marx and the full quote is:
    “I sent the club a wire stating, PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON’T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER.”
    As far as the OOC goes, I would agree with Soccermom that there are far too many of them handed out. However, based on the Wikipedia description below, who of us would not qualify?
    Description of the Order of Canada from Wikipedia:
    “The Order of Canada is Canada’s highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Order’s Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means “(those) desiring a better country.”
    Therefore, I propose that we start a campaign to award the OOC to all Canadians who desire a better country. Book your airline tickets to Ottawa now!

13. Make that Liberally devalued.

14. It seems that for every valid OOC handed out there are a half dozen “questionable” ones. Kind of like senate seats, they are basically a thank you gift these days.
    BTW, Tommy Banks has one of each. He must have saved a lot of orphans from burning buildings or something.

15. If the OOC is awarded to those desiring a better country, then I’m a de facto Member!
    Where’s my medal, Madame Jean? 🙂

16. The liberals have done to the O of C what they have done to every institution they touch….render it meaningless!

17. We should award the OOC to the Bloc, for wanting to make Canada a better country too!

18. There was a certain pig farmer from Newfoundland who recieved the OOC. All he did was steal a nation, impoverish a people and destroy four hundred years of culture. All in the name of Liberal progress.
    BTW I notice today that one of the thieves, Great Britain, has finally paid of it’s remaining World War 2 debt. It only took sixty-one years. Pity Newfoundland wasn’t extended the same courtesy before the carpetbaggers moved in.
    “On 31 December, the UK will make a payment of about $83m (£45.5m) to the US and so discharge the last of its loans from World War II from its transatlantic ally.”
    Of course they never paid their ww1 debt, but then again it never was about money.

19. I think it’s a great idea to have Don Cherry as a member. I hesitate to use the word “balanced” here, but the membership is seriously left-sided and in need of correction.
    Besides that, it would be so interesting to see how many of the left membership threaten to turn in the membership if Mr. Cherry is made a member.

20. “Perhaps Mr. Cherry takes as much enjoyment as I do from that little CBC exercise a couple of years ago called “Greatest Canadian” where he finished 7th and anybody considered “Greater” than him was Dead. Greatest Living Canadian, and declared so by the CBC. That must still stick in the craw of the show’s planners.”
    I wonder if you are aware that Mr. Cherry WORKS for the CBC – and, in fact, he is very important to the CBC and Hockey Night in Canada. Something tells me the CBC were quite happy with where he ranked. Not only that, but I am sure the CBC would love for him to get the OOC as well. They would probably even show it on TV!
    As for politics, I do not know about the rest of you, but I do not make my political choices on the basis of what some former hockey player, former hockey coach and current hockey television commentator says. I am a HUGE fan of Don Cherry, and would support his receiving the OOC – after all, doesn’t Gretzky have it? The man knows hockey, and he also likes the Oilers, which makes him pretty much the perfect man for Hockey Night in Canada.

21. DON CHERRY FOR GOVERNOR GENERAL!!!

22. Gayle,i think CBC showed how much they appreciated Cherry during his last contract negotiation(as well as Ron Maclean.Cherry has his job because of his fans pressuring the CBC,who only wanted him back if he agreed not to be critical of certain things,left-wing politically correct if you will.

23. Unfortunately, Warmington’s column suggests that the OOC is some kind of patronage appointment handed out to friends of the government. They are the result of people being nominated by members of the public. (Also, people have to consent to being nominated.)
    Yes, the majority of its well-known honorees are from the lib-left establishment, who perhaps see the OOC as another tool with which to perpetuate their dominance in Canadian society. Frankly, I would not want to be a member and for all we know that is Cherry’s attitude and he has declined being nominated.

24. I wonder if you are aware that Mr. Cherry WORKS for the CBC – and, in fact, he is very important to the CBC and Hockey Night in Canada
    I am indeed aware of his employment with that organization. I am also aware that they were so proud to have him in thier ranks that they slapped a time delay on everything he said so they could censor him for the delicate ears of their more sensitive viewers. Sure they’re proud. yup, uhuh.

25. Don Cherry is a Canadian icon but remarkably Don Cherry is not a member of the Order of Canada.
    I think that says it all Kate. Its almost by getting an Order of Canada, you end up stopping being Canadian. I think he should be proud he’s not in this rouges gallery. Not that all are or where bad. Its just appears to have been turned into a Liberal club. Kinnda like the Black Hand.
    I may not like all Don Cherry say’s, but he has the cojones to say it. Unlike the metro sexual left with their “graduated truth.
    In other words, what’s true today can change on a whim on the morrow. Lies are truth & truth is a lie mentality. Just carefully crafted lies wrapped in e-lax for a smooth consumption. It makes me nauseous .
    Keep em running Cherry.

26. I guess they could fire him if they did not like him. I guess they did not need to resign him a few years ago – but they did.
    You are looking for conspiracies where they do not exist.

27. Why would any fan of Cherry’s want to enroll him in the Odeur of Canada?

28. Anybody know for sure if Morgentaler has been awarded the Order of Canada?

29. Let’s go ahead and nominate Don and Henry to the Order and make it even more irrelevent than it is now.

30. Any person or group is welcome to nominate a deserving individual as candidate for appointment to the Order of Canada. Nomination forms are available from the Chancellery, Rideau Hall, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A1. There is no posthumous award.
    Full version (cover and form): http://www.gg.ca/honours/pdf/oc_e.pdf
    Basic version (in HTML format): http://www.gg.ca/forms/ocnom_e.html
    Nominations should be accompanied by biographical notes detailing the career and achievements of the nominee. It is helpful to include the names of persons who would support the nomination and who could provide information about why the individual deserves the honour.
    There is no deadline for nominations, as it is an on-going process. It takes a year to a year and a half for the nomination to be submitted to the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada.The average number of nominations received in recent years has been approximately 700-800 per year.
    All Canadians are eligible for the Order of Canada, with the exception of federal and provincial politicians and judges while in office. There are no posthumous appointments. Officers and Members may be elevated within the Order in recognition of further achievement, based on continued exceptional or extraordinary service to Canada. Usually, promotions are considered five years after the first appointment.
    Nominations are accepted through mail only, not on-line. Once completed, please send the form and attachments to:
    The Governor General of Canada
    Attention: Honours
    Rideau Hall
    1 Sussex Drive
    Ottawa, ON K1A 0A1
    For more information, please call toll-free line 1-800-465-6890

31. Grapes will not be working for CBCpravda for long as they have lost the contract for the NHL along with the CFL and the Olympics.
    pretty soon it will be all “little mosque on the prairie” , and beachcomber reruns with an overdub of relic and nick being “the brokeback beachcombers”.

32. Let’s face it, many involved in the arts (which comprise not an insiginificant portion of the list of members of the OOC) are leftist. Part of your complaint may simply be a consequence of the fact that those in arts and culture turn away from conservative leanings because they tend not to fund culture and arts to begin with.

33. brian mulruiney is a companion of the ooc.
    he is also the most detested living former pm with good reason.
    he is why kimmie kim got a measly TWO seats the only time she called an election.
    who is it now hijacking this order of canada thing?
    it might be smart if someone were to consult mr cherry on his receptiveness to the idea. some people are not cut out for it. perhaps he may views this ‘high honour’ as an impediment to his brash abrasive outlandish and controversial style. I dont see any posting on THAT count.

34. Sheila Fraser should be awarded the Order of Canada first and foremost…

35. Of course Don Cherry should be awarded the Order of Canada, if for the only reason that the pin itself would stand out nicely on one of his orange/green/red suits he wears so fashionably on Hockey Night in Canada. 🙂

36. Don Cherry should have the Order of Canada. It is for people that do something for Canada not for being with the government. My wife; her Grandmother recieved one but she actually done something for Canada’s people. But this was approx. 25 years ago when it meant something. Today I think it is awarded to some people for favours done, not for giving to the advancement or helping for Canadians peoples. Which it was designed for.

37. Bollocks
    How on earth could Brian Mulroney be the most detested ex PM im Canadian History. Were you in a coma for most of the past forty years? Have you never heard of a piroetting dilitante that put Canada’s national debt into championship figures and loaded our streets with welfare immagrant gangsters?

38. ronrob, he’s sneaky, he wrote “most detested living former pm”,
    Still living
    Jean Chretin
    Paul Martin
    Kim Campbell
    Brian Mulroney
    Joe Clark
    John Turner (still living I think, did I forget any one?)

39. If we’re talking about lasting contributions to Canadian conservatism, I’d personally rather see Preston Manning, Mike Harris and Ralph Klein receive the Order before Don Cherry (even if those last two started out more right-wing than they ended).
    Not one of them has received it; I think that’s a bit more of a tragedy than Don Cherry.

40. Kerry is right. Correct, also.
    But which nominee from his/her list would drive the leftoids the absolute craziest? Cherry, for sure. Okay okay, maybe Harris too.
    So let’s give it to both!
    (Manning deserves it the most. But I bet he would gladly sit back and smile a quiet wry smile as the Liberal media whip themselves into a frenzy over the nomination of the Two Satans. Heh!)
    Klein’s no bad guy, but he was just lucky to be the right guy in the richest place at the right time. Won the political 6/49. So what, eh?

41. How on earth could Brian Mulroney be the most detested ex PM im Canadian History. ”
    yo, ronr: most detested LIVING.
    how else do you explique Mme Campbell’s unprecedented drop in # of seats? I dont think THAT little ‘hat trick’ is EVER going to be repeated in this country for the next 500 years. why else did all the conservative power elite shy away from the leadership prospects? the fix wuz in, kimmie kim was too dazzled by the lofty view from the pmo to see da writin on da wall.
    the dilitante is confined to a wood and brass box personal sized ‘bunker’. he is my choice for most detested of all, living or morte. I never voted for him, I saw clean thru his arrogance from the start right after his coronation.

42. Unfortunately, Don Cherry has upset the media in Quebec when he complained about the Blochead ‘s complaining about too many Canadian flags at the Olympics. He “offended” Quebec with his factual statement that the French players all wear visors. He also supports our troops. Too politically incorrect for the likes of the Librano$$ and Quebec.
    Having said this, I strongly support the nomination for the Canadian icon who is a cash cow for the Chretien Broadcasting Corporation and thus allowing them to show American movies as a way of promoting Canadian culture. I support his nomination for all the good work he does for the cancer patients over the years and for his decades of work with the organ transplant program. I also strongly support the need to publicly establish clearly defined criteria that are not easily achieved and for which recognition is granted based on merit.
    Under the current rules Manning, Harris and Klein should immediately be granted the order. Darn, if Kim Campbell can get one for loosing an election and living off us for all the years since then those three I identified initially are more deserving than her for having changed Canadian politics for the better.

43. Ah Peter Worthington… you know you’re reading a quality paper, when you can get your political opinions, and wank material in the same publication.
    I just read Pete’s piece on how both the CBC and the Globe’s John Doyle are crazy, because the Ceeb’s coverage of the military is little more than coverage of the dead:
    “Despite Peter’s boast of 24/7 coverage in Kandahar today, CBC excels in covering the dead — body bags coming home, coffins being loaded on and off aircraft, funerals, the pain and fears of military families.”
    Imagine that! Canadians having to see the consequences of our policies! Having the opportunity to make informed choices, rather than be subject to war cheerleading propaganda like our poor American cousins. Crazy.
    Yeah… Pete deserves the Order of Canada… well at least a free lap dance from a page 3 girl.

44. Personally, I hope that if PMSH gets a majority he will appoint Don Cherry to the Senate or make him the next Governor General.
    Then there will be some real entertainment on the CBC as the Talking Heads will be exploding.
    Also I am curious, does Frank Sinatra singing “My Way” qualify as Canadian content?

45. “Imagine that! Canadians having to see the consequences of our policies! Having the opportunity to make informed choices, rather than be subject to war cheerleading propaganda like our poor American cousins. Crazy.”
    Um…. John, the media are not pro war in the US.

46. ORDER OF CANADA UP FOR THE HIGHEST BIDDER
    A click of the mouse and deep pockets are all that’s separating online bidders from a chance to own a rare piece of Canadian history that ranks among the country’s most prestigious honours: one of the earliest Order of Canada medals.
    national newswatch
    It’s rare; it’s prestigious; it’s an honour; it’s Can history; it’s Librano$…-

47. Bollox.
    Sorry,
    its these $1 a pair reading glasses I get at Dollarama. I agree with your post.

48. No one’s fault but your own that conservatives haven’t done anything positive to the country. Conservatism is simply illinformed reactionary sentiment for those who can’t handle the march of progress. Those who help society progress are rewarded; no one likes reactionaries who try to put on the brakes.

49. Anonymous said:”… for those who can’t handle the march of progress.”:
    Here is the end result of the “march of progress” of socialism-communism-fascism; and, the Baathism of the ex-dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein:
    Death.
    Communism
    How Many Did Communist Regimes Murder? The Black Book of Communism (and search) – 100 million innocent humans have been killed by socialism so far. …
    markhumphrys.com/communism.html

50. “Um…. John, the media are not pro war in the US.”
    Um… seeing as the American media doesn’t ask tough questions, and that they protect the American people from the harsh realities of war, I would say that the American media has done a piss-poor job of informing the public.
    In Canada, we’re allowed to watch the bodies coming home. Whether you support the war or not, I’d say it’s the least we can do as citizens in a democracy. In the States… they hide this stuff. What does that tell you, and do not go saying that they’re trying to be respectful. Bush leans on crippled soldiers whenever he can to boost his pathetic regime.
    And as for the retarded comments regarding progress = communism… dude… who ever said communism was progress? Find me a liberal who thinks this, and then demonstrate that they are representative of mainstream liberal thinking.
    In talking about progress, we are talking about woman’s rights, minority rights, gay rights, universal healthcare, the march of science against ignorance (though many of the jeebus freaks would see this reversed), and recognition that we can’t do whatever the hell we want to the planet despite what you may still believe.