Cameron, Raffan to receive meritorious service medals

A Hastings paramedic and the former executive director of the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough are receiving meritorious service medals next week from new Governor General Julie Payette.

Mark Cameron and James Raffan will be honoured Tuesday morning during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Raffan, an explorer who lives in Seeleys Bay, Ont., served as executive director of the Canadian Canoe Museum from 2006 to 2014, “rescuing it from near bankruptcy and transforming it into the vibrant cultural attraction it is today,” states the citation for the award.

“He laid the groundwork for a new facility and set the course for the museum to become a national institution that celebrates the lasting impact canoes have had on shaping our nation,” the citation states. Cameron is being honoured along with Toronto doctors Jay Dahman and Khaled Ahmad Almilaji for founding the Canadian International Medical Relief Organization, which provides critical medical supplies and training in war-torn Syria.

“Putting themselves at great risk, they have administered polio vaccines to more than 1.4 million children,” their citation states. “In addition to monitoring and reporting on infectious diseases in the region, they continue to train front-line health care providers in battlefield medicine.”