More than 40 years after being told she was a threat to Canada because of her sexuality, Diane Pitre is being given one of the country’s top honours.
The advocate for LGBTQ+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who was kicked out of the service in 1980 as part of what has become known as The Purge, is among 88 new appointees to the Order of Canada announced Wednesday.
They include “Deadpool” movie star Ryan Reynolds, Holocaust survivor and educator Mariette Doduck, geneticist David Chitayat, curler Kevin Martin and Heather Rankin, a member of the award-winning band The Rankin Family.
It’s an honour Pitre said she’s still trying to wrap her head around.
“I’m still in shock, and it’s surreal for me. I never expected it,” Pitre said from her home in Campbellton, N.B.
Pitre spent decades after being kicked out of the military lobbying for an apology from the government.
That came in 2017 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood in the House of Commons and apologized for past state-sanctioned discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community in Canada.
Douglas Elliott, lead counsel in a class-action lawsuit related to The Purge, was also appointed to the Order of Canada this year.
This year’s list of Canadians deemed to have made extraordinary contributions to the nation features scientists including internationally recognized E. coli expert Carlton Gyles, pediatric neuro-oncology researcher Nada Jabado and speech-language pathologist Aura Kagan.
Musicians and artists on the list include Don Alder, one of the top acoustic fingerstyle guitarists in the world, internationally renowned sculptor Ruth Abernethy, and multimedia artist Stan Douglas.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon thanked the appointees for their “perseverance, fearless leadership and visionary spirit.”
“Members of the Order of Canada are builders of hope for a better future. Each in their own way, they broaden the realm of possibilities and inspire others to continue pushing its boundaries,” she said in a statement.
Disability rights expert Michael Prince said he choked up telling his wife about his appointment.
“Sometimes you just don’t know where the feeling comes from, it just sort of overwhelmed me,” he said.
“I think just the importance of it, or the significance of it … was quite profound. I could barely get the words out.”
A University of Victoria professor, Prince has advised federal, provincial and territorial governments on disability rights and served on four royal commissions.
He most recently made news when he resigned in April from the federal government’s disability advisory group over what he said was the inadequate funding of the Canada Disability Benefit.
Canadian curling superstar Martin said he doesn’t know who nominated him for the award but called it a surprise and an honour.
Martin, whose resume includes a world championship in 2008, a silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and four gold medals at the Brier, also holds the record for Grand Slam titles with 17.
Rideau Hall credits Martin with helping to guide the sport’s competitive development, and contributing to the sport as a broadcaster, speaker, business person and teacher.
“You try your best at whatever it is you’re doing to grow whatever part of society you tend to to live in, and do your best,” he said.
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“And if something like this happens, that’s fantastic. But it’s unexpected.”
Pitre is the founder and co-chair of Rainbow Veterans of Canada and said she will continue her work even though progress has been made.
“I’ve been doing this for so long, and I’m going to continue doing it because you don’t want things to change (back). You never know when those things can happen again,” she said.
New members of the order are invited to a ceremony to receive their insignia. A statement from Rideau Hall says ceremonies will be announced “in due course.”
The 88 new appointees to the Order of Canada:
Companion
Pierre Boivin — Montreal (This is a promotion within the order.)
Officers
Stephen Aaron Arshinoff — Toronto
Sylvia Beth Bashevkin — Toronto
Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta — Toronto
Ronald Frank Burnett — Vancouver (This is a promotion within the order.)
Stan Douglas — Vancouver
Dafna Debora Gladman — Toronto
Carlton Lloyd Gyles — Guelph, Ont.
Nada Jabado — Montreal
Maureen Ann Jennings — Toronto
Dominique Alice Lemieux, O.C. (deceased) — Saint-Étienne-de-Bolton, Que.
Randy Lennox — Oakville, Ont.
Tania Murray Li — Toronto
Marco Antonio Marra — Vancouver
David Richard McCann — Vancouver
Jeffrey John McDonnell — Vernon, B.C.
Derek Muir — Grimsby, Ont.
Stanley Nattel — Montreal
General Walter John Natynczyk (retired) — Hartington, Ont.
Lesley E. Paulette — Smith’s Landing First Nation, Fitzgerald, Alta.
Heather Rankin — Mabou, Cape Breton, N.S.
Ryan Reynolds — Vancouver and New York
Christiane Rousseau — Mont-Saint-Grégoire, Que.
Tricia Catherine Smith — Vancouver (This is a promotion within the order.)
George A. Trusler — Toronto
Members
Ruth Elsie Abernethy — Wellesley, Ont.
Donald Alder — Vancouver
Vincent Asselin — Montreal
Orland Arthur Backstrom — Winnipeg
Louise A. MacCallum and Michael A. Barnstijn — Guelph, Ont.
Barry Kenneth Blanchard — Canmore, Alta.
John Anthony Boeckh — Westmount, Que.
Nicole Bourque-Bouchier — Fort McMurray, Alta.
Maureen Constance Boyd — Ottawa
Sandy Howard Buchman — Toronto
James Kevin Cameron — Lethbridge, Alta.
David A. Chitayat — Toronto
Stacy Churchill — Toronto
Colin Roswell Clarke — Oakville, Ont.
Fabienne Colas — Carignan, Que.
Felix J. E. Comeau — Mississauga, Ont.
Carol Ann Cowan-Levine — Toronto, Ontario
Donald A. Dippo — Comox, B.C.
Mariette Doduck — Vancouver
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif — Montreal
Morna Edmundson — Vancouver
Roy Douglas Elliott — Elliot Lake, Ont.
Pyarali Gulamani Nanji — Toronto
Pinchas Gutter — Toronto
Daniel A. Haas — Toronto
Aura Kagan — Thornhill, Ont.
Jean-Pierre Kingsley — Ottawa
Isolde Lagacé — Montreal
André Bernard Lalonde — Ottawa
Jeanne Brigitte Lehman — Edmonton
Karen Levine — Toronto
John Donald Longhurst — Winnipeg
Irving Ludmer — Montreal
Lorin Jean MacDonald — Toronto
Kevin Ray Martin — Edmonton
Louis Ménard — Montrea
Kenneth Leslie Mould — Winnipeg
Wendy Muckle — Ottawa
Steve Murphy — Halifax
Vijayakumar Murty — Toronto
Scott Oake — Winnipeg
Barbara Jean Perry — Oshawa, Ont.
Diane Marie Pitre — Campbellton, N.B.
Michael J. Prince — Victoria
Julia Berger Reitman — Montreal
Bernard Paul Richard — Cap-Pelé, N.B.
Richard Rose — Toronto
Greg Ryan — Toronto
Chloé Sainte-Marie — Montreal
Guy Saint-Jacques — Saint-Lambert, Que.
Walter Schneider — Toronto
Joseph A. Schwarcz — Montreal
Charles Clayton Scott — Banff, Alta.
Sam D. Shemie — Montreal
Diane Patricia Helen Sims — Stratford, Ont.
Valerie Sue Tarasuk — Toronto
Tirajeh Tehranchian — Toronto
Gabriel David Tuccaro — Fort Chipewyan, Alta.
Jean Turmel — Montréal, Que.
Ajay K. Virmani — Oakville, Ont.
Allan Douglas George Wade — Duncan, B.C.
Mark Zuehlke — Victoria