Dead billionaire among Order of Canada inductees
OTTAWA — The Canadian pharmaceutical giant whose sudden death this month is shrouded in mystery is among the latest inductees into the Order of Canada.
Gov. Gen. Julie Payette announced 125 new appointments to Canada’s highest civilian honour Friday, a list heavy on Canadians with accomplishments in science and medicine, including Bernard (Barry) Sherman, whose generic drug company Apotex made him and his wife, Honey, among the wealthiest people in Canada.
Both Barry and Honey were found dead in their Toronto home on Dec. 15, and their deaths have been deemed “suspicious.”
Sherman was nominated for his entrepreneurship in the pharmaceutical industry as well as his philanthropic support of education and other charities.
The Order of Canada cannot be awarded to someone after their death, but Sherman was nominated more than six months ago. The Order of Canada advisory council, which decides who gets the award, granted it to him at their November meeting.
A Rideau Hall spokeswoman says a family member can stand in for Sherman at the investiture ceremony, likely some time in 2018.
Slightly more than one-third of the names on Friday’s list are female. Since its inception in 1967, 27 per cent of the inductees have been women.
Among well-known Canadians on the list: actor William Shatner and movie director Denis Villeneuve, both named as officers of the order. Singersongwriter Jann Arden was made a member.
The list also features 14 Indigenous recipients including chiefs, community leaders and artists. Among them, Frederick Sasakamoose, who was the first Indigenous player in the NHL, and Chief Robert Joseph, who has been at the forefront of combating racism and intolerance toward Indigenous Peoples in Canada and is currently helping lead efforts at reconciliation.
“I am so honoured,” said Joseph. “I never dreamt in all my life this would happen to me.”
Joseph said growing up in a residential school left him “a person who had no sense of value or purpose to my life,” and said he hopes the fact so many Indigenous people are on the latest list encourages others who came down similar paths to believe they too have value and purpose.
Former Supreme Court justices Louis LeBel and Thomas Cromwell are both being inducted as companions of the order, the highest of the three ranks recognizing national preeminence or international achievements.
Officer of the order is the middle rank, recognizing national service or achievement, while a member of the order is recognized for outstanding contributions at a local or regional level or in a special field.
Justices cannot be named to the order while they are still on the bench.
LeBel retired in 2014 and Cromwell in 2016.