Nine B.C. residents awarded Order of Canada honours
Little did teenager Helen Burt know growing up in England that a school field trip to a pharmacy, to what seemed almost like a sorcerer's den in the basement of a hospital, would one day lead to her becoming an officer of the Order of Canada. Pharmacies in those days were magical labs where people in white coats mixed potions and ointments.
“I smelled the amazing aroma of all these medicinals and saw what was going on. It looked like chemistry but fun,” Burt said. “That's when I decided, `OK, I'm going to pharmacy school.'”
She and five other British Columbians were among 13 Canadians named as 2020 recipients of the order as officers, while three British Columbians were among 35 honoured as members of the Order of Canada.
Burt was between Zoom meetings last week when her landline rang, which she pretty much never answers because it's always robocalls. But, what the heck, she picked up.
“It took me a few minutes to believe it,” Burt, a professor of drug delivery at the University of B.C., said Tuesday. “I think the person on the other end was laughing because I kept asking if it was for real.”
The six officers for 2020 from B.C. are:
John Borrows of Victoria, for his scholarly work on Indigenous rights and legal traditions, which have had a significant impact across Canada and abroad;
John Challis of West Vancouver, for his seminal contributions to the field of obstetrics and gynecology, and to health research and innovation both in Canada and abroad;
Burt, of Vancouver, for her life-altering research on drug delivery systems, for her leadership at UBC and for her community engagement;
Daniel Justice of Halfmoon Bay, for his prolific contributions to the field of contemporary Indigenous studies in Canada and abroad;
Antony Penikett of Vancouver, a former premier of Yukon, for his contributions as a teacher, negotiator and public servant, and for his human rights activism;
Justice Lynn Smith of Vancouver, for her extensive and pioneering contributions to the Canadian legal system as a lawyer, academic and judge.
And of the 35 members honoured in 2020, three hail from B.C. They include:
Robert Krell of Vancouver, for contributing to our understanding of mass ethnopolitical violence and for his advocacy on behalf of Holocaust survivors;
Terry Salman of West Vancouver, for contributions to mining exploration, generous philanthropy and community activism;
David Cooper of Vancouver, for his innovative contributions to Canadian performance photography, and for his dedicated mentorship of emerging artists.
The Order of Canada was established in 1967 as part of Canada's centennial celebration, and since then more than 7,000 people from across the country have been honoured for exemplifying the order's motto of desiderantes meliorem patriam (Latin for “desiring to improve the homeland.”)
Justice, who moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2013 with his husband, is a Colorado-born member of the Cherokee Nation who has been at UBC teaching Indigenous studies since 2012. He's the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Literature and Expressive Culture.
“It's still kind of surreal,” said Justice. “I'm still kind of working through what it means.
“I'm very grateful to the people who put my name forward.”