Vol. 134, No. 35 — August 26, 2000

GOVERNMENT HOUSE

CANADIAN BRAVERY DECORATIONS

The Governor General, the Right Honourable ADRIENNE CLARKSON, on the recommendation of the Canadian Decorations Advisory Committee, has awarded bravery decorations as follows:

Medal of Bravery

CONSTABLE JAMES ADAMSON, M.B.(see footnote a)
Toronto, Ontario

On December 28, 1997, Cst. James Adamson of the Toronto Police helped apprehend two criminals threatening his colleagues in Toronto, Ontario. The criminals' vehicle was boxed in following a squad car chase. When two officers attempted to arrest the drug-crazed men, the getaway car accelerated, reversing back and forth as it slammed into other vehicles and poles, and knocking one officer to the ground. Seeing the knife-wielding passenger lunge for the other officer who was clinging to the driver's side, Cst. Adamson raced to the moving vehicle, dove head first onto the armed passenger and fought the butcher knife away from him. Cst. Adamson, then tackled the driver, allowing his teammates to assist the officer on the outside of the speeding car. During Cst. Adamson's violent struggle with the driver, the car struck a pole and other officers were then able to complete the arrest.

Medal of Bravery

MOSES ALIYAK, M.B.
Rankin Inlet, Nunavut

HATTIE KABLUTSIAK AMITNAK, M.B. (Posthumous)
Baker Lake, Nunavut

On July 9, 1999, Hattie Amitnak lost her life, and Moses Aliyak was severely mauled as they confronted a polar bear that was attacking their family at Corbett Inlet, Nunavut. While camping on Hudson Bay, Mr. Aliyak and his grandson were trying to retrieve a boat when they encountered a two-metre polar bear on the shore. Mr. Aliyak distracted the bear by throwing rocks and yelling at it as the young boy ran back to the tent. The boy escaped but the animal attacked Mr. Aliyak, inflicting severe cuts to his head and face. Horrified, 60-year-old Hattie Amitnak raced out of the tent and confronted the bear to allow Mr. Aliyak to seek refuge and the others to escape and go for help. After lacerating another boy's head, the bear attacked Mrs. Amitnak and mauled her to death. Mr. Aliyak and the boy were airlifted to hospital and recovered from their injuries.

Medal of Bravery

DONALD BEZANSON, M.B. (Posthumous)
Herring Cove, Nova Scotia

MATILDA AMY KENTRIDGE, M.B.
Toronto, Ontario

On August 29, 1999, Donald Bezanson lost his life trying to save his daughters from drowning at Herring Cove, Nova Scotia. Mr. Bezanson and his two daughters were at a popular scenic cliff when they were swept into the icy Atlantic by a wave. Battling the powerful swell, he was able to bring his four-year-old daughter back to the rocky shoreline and swim to his eight-year-old. Alerted by cries for help, Matilda Kentridge guided the younger girl away from the wet rocks and the surf while shouting encouragement to Mr. Bezanson who was desperately trying to save his other child. Seeing Mr. Bezanson slip under the surface some four metres out, Ms. Kentridge braved the pounding surf and managed to reach the panicked child. As they neared the shore, they were buffeted by the surf and became separated. Near collapse, Ms. Kentridge was thrown onto the rocks by a wave. Sadly, the eight-year-old child and her father both drowned.

Medal of Bravery

GEORGE HOLLETT BUFFETT, M.B.
Grand Bank, Newfoundland

Late in the evening of October 1, 1999, 64-year-old George Buffett rescued a fellow crewman from the freezing Atlantic waters, some 10 kilometres off Cape St. Mary's, Newfoundland. The man was working on some equipment when he was accidentally knocked overboard. Weighed down by his heavy clothing, he quickly became exhausted trying to stay clear of the boat as he feared the rotation of the propellor would pull him under. Seeing his ship mate in distress and unable to reach the life ring thrown by the crew, Mr. Buffett jumped off the scallop dragger and began swimming towards him. Despite limited visibility and a strong surface tide that pulled the victim farther away, Mr. Buffett managed to reach his side and tow him back to the life-ring. Fifteen minutes after the ordeal began, both men were hauled back safely onto the boat.

Medal of Bravery

PAUL WILLIAM BURKHOLDER, M.B.
Hamilton, Ontario

JOSEPH PAUL CAVANAUGH, M.B.
Hamilton, Ontario

On August 3, 1998, Paul Burkholder and Joseph Cavanaugh rescued an elderly man from a burning house in Hamilton, Ontario. Alerted to the fire, the friends rushed to the house where flames and thick black smoke poured out of the attic window. They pounded on the windows and doors until the disoriented occupant emerged and they urged him to leave the house. Rather than follow them outside, the man went upstairs and was knocked down by a back-draft when he opened the attic door. Disregarding their own safety, Messrs. Burkholder and Cavanaugh rushed into the blazing house and found the unconscious victim in the stairway leading from the second floor to the attic. With the help of another man, they transported the severely burned victim outside and handed him to the authorities who had just arrived.

Medal of Bravery

DAVID MICHAEL CALNAN, M.B.
Dawson City, Yukon

On July 9, 1999, David Calnan rescued a young woman from a vicious bear attack at a Yukon River campground near Dawson City, Yukon. A landscape contractor, Mr. Calnan was working nearby when he heard a cry for help. He immediately rushed to the scene and began yelling at the animal and throwing sticks at it. Twice, the black bear thrust the woman aside and charged in his direction, each time returning to maul the victim and dragging her farther into the woods. Persisting in the face of so grave a threat, Mr. Calnan confronted the animal with a heavy log and beat it into releasing its grip once again, and retreating into the woods. With the bear circling in close proximity, he provided assistance to the severely injured woman until help arrived.

Medal of Bravery

MICHAEL PHILLIP FLINT, M.B.
Sebringville, Ontario

On July 17, 1999, Michael Flint rescued a woman following a fiery highway crash in Waterloo, Ontario. Because of the extremely poor visibility caused by a heavy rain and hail storm, the woman had pulled over to the side of a busy highway when her car was struck from behind and caught fire. Seeing the flames as he drove by, Mr. Flint parked his car and ran past several bystanders who were watching the fire from the safety of their vehicles. He then opened the car door and found the woman unconscious, strapped in her seat. With the fire rapidly intensifying, Mr. Flint attempted to undo the victim's seatbelt but was driven back by the smoke and flames. Undeterred, he leaned into the car a second time and managed to free the woman. He then placed her limp body over his shoulder and ran across the expressway a few moments before the vehicle was completely engulfed in flames.

Medal of Bravery

CONSTABLE CHRISTIAN GILBERT, M.B.
Montréal, Quebec

On February 1, 1999, Cst. Gilbert saved a woman from a burning apartment building in Montréal, Quebec. From his patrol car, Cst. Gilbert noticed flames in the basement and thick smoke throughout the three-storey building. He attempted to extinguish the flames through a broken window but when his efforts failed, he disregarded his own safety and went inside. In choking smoke and zero visibility, he crawled up the stairs calling to the tenants and directing them towards the exit with his flashlight. When he heard a woman's frantic cries for help, he followed the sound of her voice until he touched her foot at the end of the first floor corridor. Gasping for air, he placed the disoriented woman on his back and brought her to safety.

Medal of Bravery

RICHARD GILLETTE, M.B.
Kyuquot, British Columbia

GILBERT JOHN, M.B.
Kyuquot, British Columbia

On July 19, 1999, Richard Gillette and Gilbert John rescued a man and his seven-year-old son from a burning house on the Kyuquot First Nation Reserve, British Columbia. Alerted to their neighbour's house-fire by Mr. John's calls for help, Mr. Gillette raced to the scene. Hearing noise from upstairs, he climbed a ladder to the second-storey window and, through thick black smoke, followed the sound of the boy's rasping breath. He found the unconscious victim on a bed, brought him to the window and handed him to another villager who carried him down the ladder. Mr. Gillette was then joined by Mr. John and together they searched for the boy's parents. They located the father but, with all escape routes blocked and the flames closing in on them, they barely had time to drag him to the window and push his motionless body down the ladder before narrowly escaping the inferno. While the man and the child quickly recovered, the woman regrettably perished in the blaze.

Medal of Bravery

TROY VAUGHN MCLEOD, M.B.
Wiarton, Ontario

On June 20, 1999, Troy McLeod risked his life to save a friend from drowning in the South Saskatchewan River near Eston, Saskatchewan. The friends were attending a church picnic when the victim ran into trouble while attempting to swim to a sandbar. Although aware of the water's dangerous conditions and of previous mishaps at that location, Mr. McLeod swam against the strong current towards his friend who had disappeared under the surface some 30 metres out. He dove under, located his motionless body and heaved him to the surface. Battling the undertow, he then began swimming towards the shoreline with one arm while towing the victim with the other. Although exhausted, Mr. McLeod managed to keep himself and the victim afloat until others arrived in a canoe to provide assistance. The victim later recovered.

Medal of Bravery

MICHEL NOËL, M.B.
Saint-Édouard-de-Maskinongé, Quebec

STÉPHANE NOËL, M.B.
Saint-Édouard-de-Maskinongé, Quebec

On July 4, 1999, Michel and Stéphane Noël rescued a man from a burning house in Saint-Édouard-de-Maskinongé, Quebec. Alerted that his father-in-law was trapped in the downstairs area of his residence, Michel Noël and his nephew Stéphane made their way through one of the two adjacent apartments and smashed a sealed door leading to the middle unit. In choking smoke, the men took turns searching the victim's bedroom, each being forced upstairs several times to catch his breath. Despite their efforts, they were unable to locate the victim and were forced out by the intensifying heat. Undeterred, they crawled back inside through a different access, located the unconscious and seriously-burned man at the bottom of the stairs and dragged him to the doorway where others provided assistance.

Medal of Bravery

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE POIRIER, M.B. (Posthumous)
Boisbriand, Quebec

Mr. Poirier lost his life after attempting to provide assistance to a man trapped inside his truck following an accident on November 15, 1998, in Rosemère, Quebec. Witnessing the truck lose control and come to rest on its side and blocking one lane of a busy highway, Mr. Poirier and his friends parked their cars across the road and rushed to the scene. Despite warnings of the imminent danger of another crash because of the position of the wreck, Mr. Poirier made his way to the truck and began helping the driver. The victim was half way out when another vehicle slammed into the truck, throwing Mr. Poirier against a guardrail and crushing him. Although other people injured in the two accidents recovered, Mr. Poirier died of his injuries three weeks later.

Medal of Bravery

CONSTABLE GREGORY THORPE, M.B.
Toronto, Ontario

On February 13, 1996, Cst. Gregory Thorpe of the Toronto Police rescued an elderly woman from a house fire in Toronto, Ontario. Flames were shooting through the roof of the three-storey rooming house when Cst. Thorpe and his partner arrived at the scene. Alerted that an elderly woman was trapped inside a basement unit, Cst. Thorpe raced to a ground-level window and, through heavy smoke, saw the woman's feet inside. When the disoriented victim did not respond to his calls, he smashed the pane, releasing intense heat and smoke. Disregarding his own safety, Cst. Thorpe then dropped some two metres inside and ran to the terrified victim. Holding his breath, he picked her up, brought her to the window and lifted her to his partner and firemen who pulled her out. Cst. Thorpe was then able to climb out to safety.

LGEN (Ret'd) JAMES C. GERVAIS, C.M.M., C.D.
Deputy Secretary

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AWARDS TO CANADIANS

The Chancellery of Honours has announced that the Canadian Government has approved the following awards to Canadians:

From the Government of Finland

From the Government of Germany

From the Government of Japan

From the Government of Poland

From the Government of the Netherlands

LGEN (Ret'd) JAMES C. GERVAIS, C.M.M., C.D.
Deputy Secretary

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Footnote a

This is the second award of a Medal of Bravery to Cst. Adamson.

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