The Order of Canada recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the country.
Those who are recognized come from all sectors of Canadian society, and their contributions are varied, but they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country.
So how is it that a towering public figure like Henry Morgentaler has never been awarded the Order of Canada?
Say what you will about Dr. Morgentaler - and there are few things, good, bad and despicably vile, that have not been said about him over the years - he has forever changed the face of health care in Canada, and he has left an indelible mark on our justice system and national psyche.
Sure, he is a controversial figure, but that does not lessen his contributions. Biographer Catherine Dunphy described Dr. Morgentaler as a "difficult hero," but he is a hero nonetheless.
The bottom line is this: Dr. Morgentaler's crusade for safe, legal abortion and his provision of that basic service has greatly benefited the health of Canadian women.
His dogged pursuit of the right to choose has made the delivery of health care (and by extension, our society) more just and more humane.
The Order of Canada was first awarded in 1967. That is the year that Dr. Morgentaler became a public figure, appearing at a House of Commons committee, delivering a tongue-lashing to politicians along with an unvarnished account of the horrors of backstreet abortions using knitting needles and Drano injections.
The next year, he performed his first abortion, then in 1969, openly defied the law by opening a private abortion clinic. In 1970, the pro-choice doctor was arrested and later acquitted. That acquittal was overturned in 1974 and Dr. Morgentaler was sentenced to prison. In 1976, he was released after serving 10 months of an 18-month sentence. The legal battles multiplied, and the issue made its way to the highest court.
On Jan. 28, 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down this country's abortion law. In recent days, that 20th anniversary has generated a tremendous amount of media coverage.
Those stories have, a least temporarily, rekindled a divisive, difficult debate for which there are strongly held beliefs across a broad spectrum of society.
But the fact that Canada has gone 20 years without an abortion law reminds us too that, beyond the extreme positions that attract most of the media attention, there is a pretty broad consensus in Canadian society.
That consensus is, while no one revels in having an abortion, the choice needs to be there and that deeply personal choice ultimately rests with every woman. The consensus too is that if abortions are going do be done, they should be done safely and covered by medicare, like other medically necessary procedures.
The 20th anniversary stories have also reminded us that Dr. Morgentaler is alive and kicking, despite some serious health problems. He continues to wage the fight for reproductive rights.
In 2005, the University of Western Ontario awarded Dr. Morgentaler an honorary doctorate, the first mainstream institution with the backbone to do so.
Greg Moran, then vice-president of the university, said Dr. Morgentaler was being recognized for his "determination, courage and effectiveness" in the fight for "human rights, especially the right of women to make their own decision regarding reproduction."
There was a small protest at the university, and it lost some alumni donations, all of which was magnified tremendously by media coverage.
Perhaps the advisory committee of the Order of Canada fears that kind of uproar. They should not. If the country's highest honour is going have real meaning, it has to be open to scrutiny.
Traditional honours, be they honorary degrees or the Order of Canada, should not be reserved for marshmallows, nor for antiseptic public figures. They should - and must - recognize that great achievements often result from monumental battles, and that those who defend rights rarely win popularity contests.
Many high-profile figures who oppose abortion, such as the late Cardinal Gerald Emmett Carter, have been honoured with the Order of Canada. So too have well-known pro-choice advocates such as the late June Callwood.
And so it should be in a country as diverse and as respectful of the right to free speech as Canada. The Order of Canada does not endorse the views of its recipients, it honours their contributions to the country and its citizens.
There are a total of 5,541 members of the Order of Canada. The glaring omission of Dr. Morgentaler from the membership list of the Order of Canada is a shameful politicization that cheapens the award.
Dr. Morgentaler, in many ways, embodies the motto of the Order of Canada: Desiderantes meliorem patriam - they desire a better country.
The least we can do for a man who has invested the past 40 years of his life in improving women's health and the delivery of health care is to invest him with the Order of Canada.
