Two dozen Quebecers appointed to the Order of Canada

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Alexander Reford suspects that the COVID-19 pandemic may have played a role in his recent appointment to the Order of Canada.

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“I think anyone who has lived the last two years in this country knows that the green spaces, the parks, the roads, the coasts are so vital to our communities, so vital to our mental health, so vital to helping people endure this never – end confinement, ”he said.

Reford is the director of Les Jardins de Métis, a National Historic Site and one of the northernmost botanical gardens in the country. He is also among the 24 Quebecers who were recently promoted or incorporated into the Order of Canada.

“I think we’ve all suddenly recognized that we don’t have … enough green space, enough outdoor settings,” Reford said. “So I like to think that this (quote) is also partly an acknowledgment of the importance of better designed spaces for happier people.”

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Gilles Vincent, former director of the Montreal Botanical Garden, was also named a member of the order.

On Wednesday, Governor General Mary Simon announced a total of 135 appointments to the Order of Canada, which is considered one of the highest civil honors in the country.

As the province continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, several Quebecers were brought into the order for their contributions to the health sector. University of Montreal professor Cara Tannenbaum was recognized for her leadership in geriatrics, women’s health and gender research. Morris Goodman of Hampstead was selected for his “transformative philanthropy” and for “enhancing the well-being of Canadians through his business endeavors in the pharmaceutical industry,” according to a statement from Rideau Hall.

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Health policy expert Gregory Marchildon and Ginette Mantha, founder and director of Préma-Québec, an organization that provides resources and support to families of premature infants, were also named members of the order.

Bruny Surin of Montreal, who won gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics, was chosen for his excellence in athletics, as well as for his support of student-athletes from across the province. Other famous Quebecers who made the cut included actor and comedian Marc Labrèche and musician Yves Lambert, who was recognized for his contribution to the revival of French-Canadian folk music.

New members of the Quebec order also included the director of the Montreal Salon du livre, Francine Bois, the former Quebec Vice Minister of Finance Jean Houde, the journalist and former president of Le Soleil Gilbert Lacasse, the ecologist Pierre Legendre, the composer Andrew Paul MacDonald, investigative reporter Robert Duff McKeown, former HEC Montréal director Jean-Marie Toulouse, and mathematical physicist Luc Vinet.

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Among the 39 new officers to the Order of Canada were three Quebec researchers: Carl-Éric Aubin, professor of mechanical engineering at the Polytechnique Montréal; Roderick R. McInnes, director of the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital; and Jacques Yves Montplaisir, founder of the country’s first sleep clinic at the Sacré-Coeur Hospital.

Neil Devindra Bissoondath, Tomson Highway, Ian Tamblyn, and Louise Trottier were also appointed officers of the order for their contributions to Canadian culture.

“It’s humbling to be among such a select group of people,” Reford said. “I feel a genuine humility when I look at (the selected ones): the Booker Prize winners, the Olympic medalists, the people who have committed their lives to their community.”