Three Kawarthas residents have been appointed to the Order of Canada by Governor General of Canada Mary Simon.
Rosemary Burns Ganley and William Anthony Fox of Peterborough and Mark Joseph Cameron of Hastings are among 64 Canadians to be appointed as members of the Order of Canada, along with 16 officers, two honorary officers, and one companion.
“The Order of Canada recognizes individuals who have made positive and lasting impacts on communities here in Canada or who have brought honour to our country abroad,” said Governor General Mary Simon when announcing the appointments on Thursday (June 27). “Congratulations to the new appointees and thank you to the nominators who cast a spotlight on their achievement, purpose, and exceptional talent.”
Born and raised in Kirkland Lake, Rosemary Ganley is a lifelong feminist teacher, activist, and writer. She lived for six years in Jamaica and Tanzania, with the Canadian International Development Agency and, with her husband John, founded the development agency Jamaican Self Help in 1980.
She was co-editor of the independent newspaper Catholic New Times in Toronto from 2001 to 2006 and is a longtime columnist for the Peterborough Examiner. She has also been published in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and more.
Ganley was inducated into the Pathway of Fame in 2011, along with her husband (who passed away in 2013). In 2018, she received both the YMCA Peace Medal and a Peterborough-Kawartha Women’s Leadership Award, and was also invited by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to sit on the Gender Equality Advisory Council for the G7 meetings in Quebec,
She gave the Margaret Laurence Lecture at Trent University on feminist theologies in 2011 and, in June 2022, was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from the university.
A research fellow and adjunct professor at Trent University, William Fox is one of Canada’s foremost authorities on archaeology. The long-standing leader of the Ontario Archaeological Society has devoted his career to advancing knowledge of Canada’s archaeological past, and the society awarded him its J. Norman Emerson Silver Medal in 2010.
Now retired from public service, Fox worked for more than 20 years as a manager of government programs, beginning in 1986 with the Ontario Ministry of Culture, then in the 1990s with Parks Canada, first in Winnipeg, then Inuvik, then Ucluelet, and then in Peterborough. Most of his most important research contributions to Ontario archaeology was in a non-professional capacity, funding his own research out of his own pocket.
Fox was among the first archaeologists to advocate the participation of Indigenous communities in preserving their material heritage, thus broadening the understanding of Canadian history.
A former paramedic, Hastings resident Mark Cameron cofounded the Canadian International Medical Relief Organization (CIMRO) in 2011 with Syrian physician Khaled Almilaji and Toronto pediatrician Jay Dahman.
An internationally recognized non-governmental organization, CIMRO provides medical education and relief in disaster zones — including the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated southern Turkey and northern Syria in February 2023.
Before cofounding CIMRO, Cameron spent more than three decades working as a paramedic with Peterborough Emergency Medical Services and in his hometown of Hastings as well as Hastings County. He is associate director of the Sunnybrook Advanced Life Support and Trauma Education program, which specializes in courses for cardiac, pediatric, and trauma life support.
In 2014, Cameron received the Governor General of Canada’s Medal of Bravery for direct line-of-duty action and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2017 for his work in Syria. A 1989 graduate of Humber College’s Primary Care Paramedic program, he also received a 2022 Premier’s Award.
Established in 1967, the Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest honours. It recognizes people across all sectors of society who have made extraordinary and sustained contributions to Canada. Appointments are made by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada who review nominations.
There are three levels of the Order of Canada, with “member” recognizing distinguished service in or to a particular community, group, or field of activity, “officer” recognizing achievement and merit of a high degree, especially service to Canada or to humanity at large, and “companion” — the highest level — recognizing outstanding achievement and merit of the highest degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large.
Along with the other appointees, Ganley, Fox, and Cameron will be invited to an investiture ceremony at a yet-to-be-announced date to receive their insignia.
