WHY HAS THIS BRAVE HERO’S NAME DISAPPEARED?

Why has a Newfoundland hero’s name been removed from an official Government of Canada website, and why has the Governor General’s office refused to reinstate it?

The late Mary Imelda Dohey, an Air Canada flight attendant and psychiatric nurse from St. Bride's, Newfoundland, was the first living recipient of the nation’s highest award, the Cross of Valour, for risking her own life to save the lives of over 200 passengers and fellow crew members during an airline hijacking in 1971.

This was the highest honour awarded to a living Canadian since the Second World War.

The medal has only been awarded 20 times since it was created on May 1, 1972. However, if you go to the Governor General of Canada web page, to the “Find a Recipient” section, and search for Cross of Valour recipients, there are only 19 recipients listed. Some time prior to January of this year, Dohey’s name was removed from the list, and the Governor General’s office has so far failed to reinstate it or to explain why it was removed.

I wrote to the Governor General’s office in January of this year to bring this to their attention, assuming it had been an inadvertent database error introduced when Dohey was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. When I did not receive a reply, I contacted several senators and MPS, including Stephanie Kusie, the Conservative shadow critic for transportation, since Dohey had been an Air Canada flight attendant when she won the award.

Kusie’s office has written several letters to the Governor General’s staff, and also to the minister of Canadian Heritage, Steven Guilbeault. Kusie sent the letter on March 18, more than a month and a half after I brought the error to their attention. As I write this, it is April 11 and there is no indication that the government is planning to correct the error.

Sincerely,

William R. Lorimer

Bell Island