Governor General Mary Simon has appointed 78 people to the Order of Canada, including a pair of Albertans: Cree chief Wilton (Willie) Littlechild and journalist Susanne Craig. The appointment to Order of Canada is reserved for people who “show exemplary Canadian spirit in their art or activism.” Out of the 78, 69 of them were appointed members, 15 officers (one of them honourary), and three companions — all varying levels of prestige in the already coveted award. Canadian lawyer and politician, Chief Wilton (Willie) Littlechild s a residential school survivor, an activist for Indigenous rights, and does the land dedication before Edmonton Oilers games. .Littlechild was the head of Canada’s Indigenous Delegation to the United Nations, and helped work on its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He was also a founder of the North American Indigenous Games in 1990, and advocated for the birth of the World Indigenous Games.He was also the Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, a Progressive Conservative member of Parliament, and served six years as commissioner to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. He is recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, and has been inducted in the Alberta Order of Excellence. .Alberta-born journalist Susanne Craig, who went to the University of Calgary, worked for the Calgary Herald, The Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal, and now writes for the New York Times, was appointed as a member. She is most well known for her work criticizing former president Donald Trump, for which she earned a Pulitzer Prize alongside journalists David Barstow and Russ Buettner. The trio investigated Trump’s finances in 2019 in efforts to debunk his “claims of self-made wealth. The Pulitzer Prize website said the team “revealed his business empire riddled [was] with tax dodges."Craig told CBC she “couldn't believe it” and emphasized the important work of journalists, which she called “a dying breed.” "Our work ... particularly on Donald Trump and his finances, it shows that one reporter or a small team of reporters can really make a difference," she said. "When reporters are laid off, or they're just not there to bear witness, things do go uncovered. We all benefit from a healthy press."
Governor General Mary Simon has appointed 78 people to the Order of Canada, including a pair of Albertans: Cree chief Wilton (Willie) Littlechild and journalist Susanne Craig. The appointment to Order of Canada is reserved for people who “show exemplary Canadian spirit in their art or activism.” Out of the 78, 69 of them were appointed members, 15 officers (one of them honourary), and three companions — all varying levels of prestige in the already coveted award. Canadian lawyer and politician, Chief Wilton (Willie) Littlechild s a residential school survivor, an activist for Indigenous rights, and does the land dedication before Edmonton Oilers games. .Littlechild was the head of Canada’s Indigenous Delegation to the United Nations, and helped work on its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He was also a founder of the North American Indigenous Games in 1990, and advocated for the birth of the World Indigenous Games.He was also the Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, a Progressive Conservative member of Parliament, and served six years as commissioner to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. He is recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, and has been inducted in the Alberta Order of Excellence. .Alberta-born journalist Susanne Craig, who went to the University of Calgary, worked for the Calgary Herald, The Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal, and now writes for the New York Times, was appointed as a member. She is most well known for her work criticizing former president Donald Trump, for which she earned a Pulitzer Prize alongside journalists David Barstow and Russ Buettner. The trio investigated Trump’s finances in 2019 in efforts to debunk his “claims of self-made wealth. The Pulitzer Prize website said the team “revealed his business empire riddled [was] with tax dodges."Craig told CBC she “couldn't believe it” and emphasized the important work of journalists, which she called “a dying breed.” "Our work ... particularly on Donald Trump and his finances, it shows that one reporter or a small team of reporters can really make a difference," she said. "When reporters are laid off, or they're just not there to bear witness, things do go uncovered. We all benefit from a healthy press."
