27 Appointees Named To Ontario's Highest Honour

Three-time Toronto Mayor, David Crombie, former Ontario opposition leader John Tory, and popular bilingual children's educator Suzanne "Marie-Soleil" Pinel are among 27 Ontarians being appointed to The Order of Ontario.

The appointees were chosen for their contributions to the arts, law, science, medicine, history, politics, philanthropy and the environment.

The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will invest the appointees at a ceremony on Thursday, January 26 at Queen's Park.

Named to The Order of Ontario are: 

• Peter Adams of Peterborough, a politician, professor and volunteer whose efforts raised Peterborough's profile in the 1990s, when the province decided to make the city the new home of the Ministry of Natural Resources.
  

• Dr. Anna Banerji of Toronto, a specialist in tropical and infectious diseases and world-renowned expert in the field of respiratory diseases in Inuit children. She helped create the Immigrant Health and Infectious Disease Clinic and the Canadian Refugee Health Conference.
  

• Dr. Sandra E. Black of Toronto, one of the world's pre-eminent cognitive neurologists specializing in stroke and dementia, and the visionary leader behind the Ontario Stroke System, designed to improve stroke care from prevention to rehabilitation and reintegration. 

• Paul Cavalluzzo of Toronto, a leading constitutional, labour, and administrative lawyer who was lead commission counsel in high-profile public inquiries, including the Walkerton Inquiry and the Arar Inquiry.

• Catherine Colquhoun of Thunder Bay, a 50-year volunteer who has been instrumental in the founding, development, survival and future of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. She also supports the orchestra's touring education program for remote communities across the north.

• David Crombie of Toronto, a three-term mayor of Toronto whose socially-responsible urban policies replanned the downtown and preserved important historical neighbourhoods. He continues as Founding Chair of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust and Chair of the Toronto Lands Corporation.

• Nathalie Des Rosiers of Ottawa, a legal expert who has made groundbreaking efforts to ensure that victims of child sexual abuse get compensation for their injuries. She heads the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

• Marcel Desautels of Toronto, Canada' most generous benefactor to post-secondary education. Ongoing support of the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking has helped put the University of Toronto at the leading edge of business education and the epicentre of a knowledge revolution.  

• Sara Diamond of Toronto, artist and president of OCAD University, who guided the former art college into a new era as a university, by focusing on inter-disciplinary collaborations in Ontario and world-wide.

• Charles Garrad of Toronto, an internationally-recognized archaeologist, historian, and scholar. He is Ontario's longest serving licensed archaeologist, and with volunteers has located and registered over 90 archaeological sites across the province.

• Peter Gilgan of Oakville, renowned leader in the home-building industry whose contributions have supported a wide range of initiatives focused on health education, social services and other community causes.

• Frank Hayden of Burlington, a sports scientist who conceived and created Special Olympics International which currently provides sports training and competition for over three million people with intellectual disabilities in 170 countries.

• Donald Jackson of Whitby, world gold medalist in male figure skating who was the first to land a triple Lutz jump in competition in 1962 (a feat unmatched for 12 years) earning an unprecedented seven perfect scores. 

• Zeib Jeeva of Toronto, a South African anti-apartheid activist who focused on bringing Canadian assistance and resources to help youth in South Africa after apartheid ended. He is founding member of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, launched in Toronto by its namesake.

• Howard McCurdy of LaSalle, the first African-Canadian Member of Parliament for the New Democratic Party. A scientist and civil rights activist, he formed the Guardian Club to fight racial discrimination in Windsor, and was cofounder and first Chair of the National Black Coalition of Canada.

• Arthur McDonald of Kingston, a respected physicist who led the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory scientific team confirming that neutrinos have mass. This changed the basic understanding of physics for these fundamental particles, a very significant scientific discovery.

• Noella Milne of Toronto, a lawyer and volunteer who has devoted herself to children's issues, through leadership with many organizations, particularly the Children's Aid Foundation. She has developed projects for HIV health in Africa and transitional employment programs for new Canadians.

• Suzanne Pinel of Ottawa, a French-language educator and television personality recognized by generations of Ontario children as "Marie-Soleil". Ms. Pinel's national show produced 145 bilingual programs over the course of a decade.  

• Ucal Powell of Vaughan, head of Ontario's Carpenter's Union. Under his leadership, the Carpenters' Union has built a world-class apprenticeship program and has earned a reputation as a giving and compassionate organization.

• Barbara Reid of Toronto, an internationally-acclaimed children's author and illustrator, who has sold more than 1.5 million books world wide. She visits schools and libraries across Canada to encourage reading and inspire young people to express themselves through art and writing.

• Alison Rose of Toronto, an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker and reporter. For 18 years she has been a volunteer serving people in need through St. Andrew's Out of the Cold, and the Law Society of Upper Canada's Lawyers Feed the Hungry Program.

• Linda Schuyler of Toronto, co-creator and executive producer of the multi-award winning Degrassi television franchise. Broadcast in more than 150 countries, the shows constitute one of Canada's most valuable cultural exports.    

• Dr. Louis Siminovitch of Toronto, a geneticist who pioneered the development of medical genetics in Canada, and was the first head of four major research facilities in Ontario.

• Rahul Singh of Etobicoke, founder of GlobalMedic which today has over 500 volunteers who have led more than 60 missions in over 30 countries. His work earned him recognition on Time Magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people in 2010.

• Connie Smith of Ancaster, host of "Always Good News"on CTS-TV and media instructor at Mohawk College.  Her career as a journalist and mentor includes 32 years as a reporter, producer and the station's first female weekday news anchor on CHCH TV in Hamilton. 

• The Honourable Ray Stortini of Sault Ste. Marie, a retired Superior Court Judge, known for sentencing offenders in victimless crimes to community service, as a solution for both the offender and society. He was especially attuned to issues in the Aboriginal community.

• John Tory of Toronto, a lawyer, business leader, community activist, broadcaster and former MPP and Leader of the Official Opposition.  He is a consummate champion for the Greater Toronto Region as a founding member and chair of CivicAction and chairs and volunteers on countless fundraising campaigns.

• Claude Lamoureux of Toronto, an international expert in corporate governance. Mr. Lamoureux was appointed the first president and CEO of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and led it to a position as one of Canada's most dominant investors. He was appointed in 2008 and will be invested with his medal at this year's ceremony.