At least five Jewish Canadians were among the 61 people appointed to the Order of Canada and announced by Governor General Louise Arbour on June 26. Included amongst those honoured is a molecular biophysicist \u2014 whose father is also a member of the Order of Canada \u2014 and an expert in gynecological oncology.<\/p>\n
Since its founding in 1967, close to 8,800 people have been appointed or promoted within the Order. The award \u201crecognizes people across all sectors of society who have made extraordinary and sustained contributions to our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Lewis Kay, a University of Toronto professor and SickKids senior scientist, was first appointed to the Order in 2016. With the most recent round of appointments, he was promoted to the title of \u201cCompanion,\u201d the highest level within the Order of Canada. To date, roughly 500 Canadians have been awarded this title.<\/p>\n
Kay\u2019s father, Cyril Kay, was also appointed to the Order of Canada in 1995. \u201cTo be able to have that commonality with somebody who had a big impact on you is a real joy,\u201d says Kay. \u201cThere is no doubt that winning awards in isolation is not nearly as much fun as being able to share them with other people.\u201d Not only are both father and son members of the Order of Canada, but they also share a professional field, as Cyril Kay is a biochemist.<\/p>\n
Passing on a passion for biochemistry to younger generations is important to Kay, who occasionally shows high school students on school trips around his lab to discuss his field of study. \u201cWhen I get up in front of a crowd of kids and I\u2019m able to excite them, I\u2019ll ask \u2018When you come to university, would you like to take a course with me?\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cWhen they put up their hands and say \u2018Yeah,\u2019 that\u2019s the best feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all like to get patted on the backs, but I think that just doing what I do and getting satisfaction from it is important,\u201d Kay told The CJN. \u201cWhen I see a nice result or an experiment that worked, that\u2019s very meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Allan Covens has also been appointed as a Member to the Order of Canada. As a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Toronto and the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Covens\u2019 work has advanced the standard of care for cervical cancer. Covens also serves as the chief examiner for the International Gynecological Cancer Society.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel honoured, and at the same time a little humbled by the distinction,\u201d says Covens. \u201cThis just represents a nice recognition for what I would call a career-long dedication to management of cervical cancer, along with fertility preserving procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n
International work has been a major component of Covens\u2019 career, as he has been travelling to Kenya annually since 2012 to provide training to surgical fellows. \u201cThe international work really magnifies everything. If I can train 10 or 20 fellows who go out into practice and each treat 100,000 women over their careers, you can see the pyramidal effect,\u201d says Covens. \u201cI hope my mentorship will have a concrete impact on women\u2019s health, potentially even across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Covens reflects on how his ancestors, who immigrated to Canada from Europe, would react to his appointment to the Order of Canada. \u201cIf my grandparents realized that the government of Canada was handing this type of distinction to their grandson, I think they would be very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Trevor Hurwitz, based in Vancouver, has also been appointed as a Member to the Order of Canada. Hurwitz, who is considered the founder of neuropsychiatry in British Columbia, is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. He created the first neuropsychiatric programs in his province, and his work has advanced the treatment of complex brain disorders.<\/p>\n
\u201cReceiving the Order of Canada is an immense honour and a source of great pride,\u201d Hurwitz told The CJN via email. \u201cAt the same time, it fills me with a profound sense of gratitude, knowing that such recognition could only have come through the extraordinary support and confidence of the community with whom I have had the privilege of working over many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Award-winning film producer Niv Fichman, Toronto-based founder of Rhombus Media, was named as an Officer to the Order of Canada. Fichman has \u201cshaped Canadian cinema for nearly five decades,\u201d a news release from the Governor General\u2019s office stated. He has produced acclaimed films like The Red Violin and Enemy. His film BlackBerry, broke records after being nominated for 17 Canadian Screen Awards, winning 14, including best motion picture. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Lorne Segal, a Vancouver-based businessman and philanthropist, has also been named as a Member to the Order of Canada. In addition to his work in real estate development, Segal promotes awareness of mental health, helping to raise over $15 million for the Coast Mental Health Foundation. \u201cHis combined impact reflects a lifelong legacy of principled enterprise and meaningful civic contribution,\u201d reads his contribution description.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At least five Jewish Canadians were among the 61 people appointed to the Order of Canada and announced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":771213,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,162940,66],"class_list":["post-771212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-order-of-canada","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/771213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}