Saturday, July 6, 2002
Self-appreciation Canadian style - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- Ah, your humble correspondent’s number hasn’t come up. At least not yet. Thursday afternoon, from her regal digs Rideau Hall, Her Excellency, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson’s press office fired off a press release stating that there were to be a new batch of appointments to the Order of Canada. Madame Clarkson’s golden touch fell to 99 lucky individuals. It breaks down to 4 new Companions, 28 Officers and 65 new Members. The Order of Canada has but three levels: Companions, which are limited in total number and the highest level people can achieve; Officers, which make up level two; and Members, which is sort of the entry level to the ‘Canadian Establishment’.
Madame Clarkson’s newest appointments reflect the ‘Establishment’ oh so well. I wasn’t stupid enough to expect my own name amongst the list of Order appointments, as being a Rafe Mair fan who happens to agree with Rafe, our ilk are loath to see our names amongst ‘Establishment’ listings. However, going over the 99 names and their bios, it is interesting to note those so honoured. I will admit to a secret desire to one day finding my name amongst the appointments. Who wouldn’t want rarely bestowed letters appended to their humble names? But those who did Thursday, include what some may brand safe choices amongst the Canadian elite. You’d never find some controversial pundit like Gordon Gibson or Rafe Mair on any Order list, simply because they -- those that pick the winners, so to speak -- would much rather honour more quieter and less upsetting Canadian personalities. Really, they want stultified and bland Canadians who nary say a controversial word in their life, so as to not upset the apple cart of those that really run Canada. Doris Anderson, a feminist of the highest order, is one of the noisiest personalities Central Canada’s ever braved. However since she championed the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a Trudeauesque fruit of Central Canadian thinking, she’s styled a Companion to the Order of Canada. Yup, Ms. Anderson is now part of the demimonde of Canada because she’s a pronounced Liberal. Liberals are an awfully popular bunch amongst the Order. Mel Smith, the late constitutional dean in British Columbia, whose public service is unparalleled, would have been an ideal Order recipient. However his public protestation against the Charlottetown Accord and other things political, in the right-wing press of Ted Byfield, earned him the eternal blackball from the ‘Canadian Establishment’. Carole Taylor, the glamorous head of the CBC got an Order of Canada last year, as she’s been known to boast Liberal credentials. The same credentials, that I might add, landed her the plum CBC chairmanship as well. Amongst the notable Liberals I noticed amongst the list of 99 is one Thomas S. Axworthy. He’s gained fame from being a loyal servant to one Pierre Elliott Trudeau. For years, Axworthy was an executive assistant during the Trudeau era, even penning a book or two with Trudeau himself. His Officer of the Order of Canada citation however, tastefully ignores any political reference, rather it praises him for his fronting of the Historia Foundation, an outfit that celebrates Canadian history. (No doubt history, as seen through Central Canadian eyes.) Celebrities gaining admittance into the Order include musicians Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn and Luc Plamondon. Mitchell gains a Companion to the Order, which as I said is limited to under a hundred throughout time. Thus, should Companions die off, Her Excellency is moved to fill those spaces. Amongst those that passed on in the last year include, Dalton Camp, Mordecai Richler and Peter Gzowski. Cockburn is promoted from mere Member to Officer, whilst the lyricist Plamondon is named directly an Officer. Another musical lot gaining C.M.’s include Sharon Hampson, Lois Lichenstein and Bram Morrison, also known as Sharon, Lois and Bram, the children’s music trio. Named an Honorary Companion is Frank Gehry. Gehry, of architectural fame, is now an American, however since he started his career in Toronto, he’s been deemed worthy of a Canadian honour. Other former Honorary Companions include Nelson Mandela and the Duke of Edinburgh. Those who get to pick who gets prizes incidentally is a panel headed up by the Governor General herself; the Right Honourable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverly McLachlin; Alex Himelfarb, the Clerk of the Privy Council of Canada (the Prime Minister’s deputy minister); Judith LaRocque, Deputy Minister at the Canadian Heritage department; the Honourable Rosemary Brown, P.C., O.C., O.B.C.; plus two more Companions, a couple more Officers, and another Member of the Order of Canada. Sigh. The captains of industry are not immune to honours. J.R. Shaw, the founder and boss of Shaw Communications is styled an Officer of the Order, as is H. Peter Oberlander, a Vancouverite, who amongst other accomplishments, was a senior adviser during the APEC conference that took place in this town back in 1997. John Kerr, of the forestry company Lignum is honoured with a Membership, whilst Roslyn Kunin, a Province columnist and economist in these parts gets a C.M. The grand master of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels gets an honorary C.M. as well. The former Torontonian, creator and Executive Producer of NBC’s television staple was the former son-in-law of Canadian comic legend Frank Shuster, who was a Companion himself. So I suppose Michaels’ honour from his former country, could also be interpreted as filling the space left with Shuster’s own passing. Well, I suppose I sound a disgruntled bitter. I don’t mean to be. I bet there are many well deserving Canadians, of all walks of life, who do deserve to be honoured by a grateful nation. However, as a British Columbian, way out here in “The West”, it’s kinda easy to notice the glossing over Central Canada does when honouring outstanding Canadians. And it’s not hard to note the blatant self-congratulation that goes on amongst the ‘Establishment’s’ power brokers, again mostly of the Central Canadian ilk. It does give some food for thought, after the supposedly patriotic displays we saw earlier this week, across this country on Canada Day.- 30 -
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