Vol. 132, No. 42 — October 17, 1998

GOVERNMENT HOUSE

THE ORDER OF CANADA

The Governor General, the Right Honourable ROMÉO LEBLANC, in his capacity as Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, has appointed the following person, who has been recommended for such appointment by the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada.

Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada

Nelson Mandela, President of the Republic of South Africa

Witness the Seal of the Order
of Canada as of the third day
of September, one thousand
nine hundred and ninety-eight

JUDITH A. LAROCQUE
Secretary General
of the Order of Canada

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CANADIAN BRAVERY DECORATIONS

The Governor General, the Right Honourable ROMÉO LEBLANC, on the recommendation of the Canadian Decorations Advisory Committee, has awarded bravery decorations as follows:

Medal of Bravery

ROBERT W. BRADSHAW, M.B.

On September 12, 1997, Robert Bradshaw rescued a man from a burning townhouse in Kingston Township, Ontario. Mr. Bradshaw was working in a courtyard when he was alerted to a fire across the street. He immediately rushed over and, unable to open the dead-bolted front door, he raced around the house and pried open the patio door. With his head wrapped in a damp blanket, he crawled up the stairs shouting and banging on the walls until the intense heat drove him outside. Alerted that someone remained on the upper floor, Mr. Bradshaw re-entered the unit and resumed his search through the choking smoke. At the sound of a closing door, he went back out and found a man clinging to a second-storey window. As he lowered the victim to the ground, the man told him that two teenagers remained trapped inside. Mr. Bradshaw went back in and searched for the youths until firefighters arrived.

Medal of Bravery

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER ÉRIC D'ARAGON, M.B.

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER LIEUTENANT PATRICK THÉRIAULT, M.B.

During the early hours of January 24, 1997, Éric D'Aragon and Lt. Patrick Thériault rescued a man whose vehicle had broken through the ice while crossing the Ottawa River, at Pincourt, Quebec. Facing an extremely urgent situation, the volunteer firefighters raced toward the victim, without stopping to pick up their regulation ropes and lights. After making their way across 150 metres of thin ice, they reached the hole at the moment the exhausted man began to sink from sight. Lt. Thériault reached underwater and grabbed the victim by the collar, managing to hang onto him despite the strong current. Mr. D'Aragon then helped him drag the man out of the hole, secure him to a rescue board and haul him to safety. The body of another passenger was found later, about 50 kilometres downstream from the accident scene.

Medal of Bravery

CAPTAIN GERRY DAWSON, M.B.

JAMES HARDING, M.B.

JOHN E. OLSON, M.B.

On October 30, 1996, Cpt. Gerry Dawson, James Harding and John Olson rescued two men from a disabled American cruise ship on Lake Superior, Ontario. Ripped from its mooring and sent adrift by gale-force winds, the ailing 34-metre ship had been towed towards Thunder Bay by a passing freighter until the line broke sending it adrift again. Responding to the distress call, Cpt. Dawson and Messrs. Harding and Olson battled 120-kilometre-per-hour winds and four-metre waves to reach the ship aboard their 24-metre tug boat Glenada. With no other rescue means available, it was decided that the victims would have to jump from one ship to the other. Despite the extreme rolling of the ship, Mr. Olson managed to keep the water-logged engine working while Cpt. Dawson navigated the tug boat close to the cruise ship in near-zero visibility. Mr. Harding wedged himself into the bow in order to grab the men as they jumped aboard but the first attempt failed when the Glenada jammed into the stern of the other ship and broke the railing. Undeterred, the rescuers persevered and on the second attempt, Mr. Harding succeeded in securing one man, then the other, as they leaped onto the ice-covered deck.

Medal of Bravery

FIREFIGHTER CAPTAIN ALAN HUNT, M.B.

BRENT DAVID MERRILL, M.B.

On August 19, 1997, a collision between a Fire Department emergency van and an armoured truck at Toronto, Ontario, sent the van careening down the street, trapping two firefighters and showering an intersection with gas and sparks that sent witnesses running for cover. Passerby Brent Merrill ran to the flaming van and, through the broken passenger window, witnessed Cpt. Hunt trying in vain to revive and pull his severely injured colleague from their trap. Urging the victims to come out, Mr. Merrill coaxed Cpt. Hunt to slide towards the window and helped him out through the opening. Despite the risks, both men then reached back inside the wreckage and together, they assisted the driver out and away from the inferno just as an oxygen tank in the back of the van blew up, sending flames and metal debris 20 metres into the air.

Medal of Bravery

CONSTABLE MICHAEL WILLIAM JOY, S.C., M.B.

On July 27, 1995, Police Cst. Michael Joy negotiated with an individual armed with a sawed-off shotgun, in the hope of providing assistance to a severely wounded man in Hamilton, Ontario. Responding to a call of a shooting, police officers surrounded the house where four men had been binging on drugs and alcohol. Through the dispatcher, Cst. Joy persuaded the aggressor to let his partners go and once outside, they confirmed that one man had been shot in the head. After several failed attempts to convince the gunman to surrender, and fearing that the victim might not live until negotiators arrived, Cst. Joy informed the aggressor that he was coming in, unarmed. As Cst. Joy entered the house with his hands up, the man aimed his gun menacingly at his head. Undeterred, Cst. Joy was able to calm the unstable man, convince him to put down his weapon and give himself up. The victim did not survive.

Medal of Bravery

JOHN ARCHIBALD LEWIS, M.B.

On August 1, 1997, Paramedic John Lewis rescued a driver and his seven-year-old son from a burning tractor-trailer near Kingston, Nova Scotia. Mr. Lewis was riding home on his motorcycle when he witnessed a burning tractor-trailer skid across the highway after a head-on collision with a minivan, and stop at the side of the road. As the driver's side was on fire from a ruptured fuel tank, Mr. Lewis tried to open the passenger door to reach the driver who was slumped against the steering wheel. Struggling in vain with the door, he noticed a child's feet protruding from underneath the seat. He pulled the boy out through the window and handed him to a bystander. With flames now reaching over the driver's window and the cab, Mr. Lewis reached inside and dragged the severely injured man through the opening moments before fire destroyed the vehicle.

Medal of Bravery

TESSA LOGAN, M.B.

On October 2, 1997, thirteen-year-old Tessa Logan went to the aid of her mother who was being attacked by a man armed with a knife in Red Deer, Alberta. Tessa's mother had kindly opened her door to provide shelter for the night to a man from the church and soup kitchen where she worked. The man had pleaded to be let in and she allowed him to sleep on the couch. Minutes after she had retired to her room, the man barged in, grabbed her and put a knife to her throat, repeatedly uttering death threats. The woman struggled for the knife but the aggressor continued assaulting her as they fell to the floor. Awakened by her mother's cries, Tessa ran from her own bedroom and jumped onto the assailant's back. Although she clung to his arm, he lifted the knife to her mother's face and slashed her cheek. Tessa persevered and was able to distract him. He then chased her out of the apartment where she was able to escape.

Medal of Bravery

SEAN MCLAUGHLIN, M.B.

On the afternoon of December 11, 1995, Sean McLaughlin rescued his friend from a burning basement apartment in Edmonton, Alberta. When fire broke out in the nearby living room, Mr. McLaughlin shouted to alert the other tenants and urged his friend to follow him out. He ran through the flames to the only exit and opened the door, causing the fire and smoke to intensify. Mr. McLaughlin raced up the stairs and escaped to the yard only to realize that his friend had remained behind. With complete disregard for his own safety, he immediately ran back through the flames and located the woman, frozen by fear. He covered her face with his arms and, shielding her body with his own while sliding along the wall in zero visibility, he managed to lead her from the inferno. Both Mr. McLaughlin and his friend suffered burns in this tragic incident.

Medal of Bravery

JUDY MILLER, M.B., R.N.

CHERYL PARROTTA, M.B., R.N.

On July 11, 1997, nurses Judy Miller and Cheryl Parrotta rescued an elderly man from his hospital bed engulfed in flames in Sudbury, Ontario. When fire broke out in the room of a man secured by a belt to his bed because of frequent falls, nurses Miller and Parrotta found the patient, his bed and bedside furniture, engulfed in flames. They attempted to extinguish the flames on the man's body but the fire kept reigniting. Undeterred, they continued despite toxic black smoke and ominous popping noises coming from an oxygen valve. Fire singed the hair on Mrs. Parrotta's arm and the smoke forced her to leave the room in a fit of intense coughing. Unable to breathe and with her hair on fire, Ms. Miller had meanwhile managed to untie the victim's belt and pull him to the floor. Assisted by Mrs. Parrotta who had returned to help, Ms. Miller dragged the patient to the hallway where others tended to his severe burns. With several other nurses, Ms. Miller and Mrs. Parrotta then evacuated the other patients. Regrettably, the victim did not survive.

Medal of Bravery

STACY DARWIN MILLHAM, M.B.

On September 10, 1995, Stacy Millham rescued a nine-month-old girl from a burning townhouse in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Informed that a baby was trapped in a second-storey bedroom, Mr. Millham rushed upstairs and crawled along the hallway, a wet towel protecting his face from the heavy black smoke. He kicked open the first bedroom door and was forced back by shooting flames. Undeterred, he continued to the second bedroom where he searched the mattress in a sweeping motion. Not finding the child, he made his way to the window and as he opened it, touched her body with his foot and she began to cry. Mr. Millham picked her up and dropped her down to bystanders. He then collapsed from smoke inhalation and was rescued by firefighters who found him near the window. Tragically, the inferno claimed the life of a two-year-old boy.

Medal of Bravery

LEO PELLETIER, M.B.

On June 24, 1997, Leo Pelletier extracted the driver from a burning tandem dump truck in North Vancouver, British Columbia. When its brakes failed, the truck, loaded with wet clay mix, struck a concrete barrier, then a tree, ignited and rolled on its side. Mr. Pelletier was in a nearby building and heard the crash followed by horrible screams. He immediately raced to the scene and found the driver pinned inside the truck with diesel fuel spraying into the air and smoke pouring from the cab. Realizing the urgency of the situation, Mr. Pelletier leaned inside the vehicle and pulled the victim's arm but could not free him. Despite the rapidly advancing flames and the intensity of the heat, he reached under the man to free his other arm and, bit by bit, managed to drag him from the wreck where others provided assistance. Both Mr. Pelletier and the victim suffered burns during this ordeal.

Medal of Bravery

ODETTE TREMBLAY, M.B.

On March 5, 1997, Odette Tremblay rescued a man from a blazing car following a highway accident near L'Étape, in Parc des Laurentides, Quebec. Arriving on the scene, Mrs. Tremblay discovered an unconscious man in the front passenger seat and flames engulfing the driver's side. Despite the risks, Mrs. Tremblay reached inside the car through the broken window on the passenger side, grabbed the victim and pulled him onto the seat. Then she tried to pull the injured man out the door, but the opening was too narrow. With the help of her sister-in-law, who pried the door open, Mrs. Tremblay hauled the man from the wreck to safety moments before the car was completely consumed by flames.

LGEN (Ret'd) JAMES C. GERVAIS, C.M.M., C.D.
Deputy Secretary

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AWARDS TO CANADIANS

The Chancellery has announced that the Canadian Government has approved the following awards to Canadians:

From the Government of Finland

From the Government of Great Britain

From the Government of Hungary

From the Government of Japan

From the Government of the Netherlands

LGEN (Ret'd) JAMES C. GERVAIS, C.M.M., C.D.
Deputy Secretary

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