LITMIR.BIZ

      William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG.

      Throughout the Second World War, numerous proposals were devised to create a Canadian order, but none came to fruition, and thus Canada continued to work within the broader imperial honours system. In 1942, Parliament again tackled the issue of honours and awards. In July of that year, the Awards Coordination Committee met and ultimately decided that, in addition to being allowed to receive gallantry and valour decorations, Canadians should be eligible for the non-titular levels of the imperial orders of chivalry (those not conferring knighthood). It also expressed the opinion that the Canadian government should establish a Canadian order of merit. Essentially, the committee adhered to the Nickle Resolution — which allowed for the award of honours only on the advice of the Canadian government — while simultaneously discarding the proposals of the 1919 Special Committee on Honours and Titles, which sought to cease the naming of Canadians to all imperial orders of chivalry.

      It was not until 1967 with the founding of the Order of Canada that the Canadian government acted upon the 1942 proposal to create a Canadian honour. In terms of the other proposals, Canadian service personnel and civilians were made eligible for the non-titular levels of the Order of the Bath, the Order of St. Michael and St. George, the Order of the British Empire, and the Imperial Service Order. This came to an end with the conclusion of the war, and Dominion Day 1946 saw the last civil honours list until the establishment of the Order of Canada.

      The Korean War

      With the beginning of the Korean War, Cabinet was once again faced with making decisions about honours in Canada. It elected merely to institute a policy similar to that used during the Second World War, which allowed for members of the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force to accept imperial gallantry decorations and the non-titular levels of the imperial orders of chivalry. However, in contrast to the Second World War, civilians who made an important contribution to the Korean War effort were not permitted to receive any honours.

      The 1956 Policy: An Incomplete Solution, 1956–1967

      The end of the Korean War saw the flow of imperial honours, aside from long service awards, cease once again. In 1956, however, Cabinet passed a directive that instated a more liberal policy toward honours and awards. Cabinet Directive 30 allowed Canadian civilians to receive the George Cross, George Medal, and Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct for “acts of bravery performed at the risk of death or serious injury.” Thus, for the most part, the Canadian honours system consisted of bravery decorations. Allowances were also made to permit appointments for gallantry to the various levels of the Order of the British Empire, and a handful of appointments to the order were made to both civilians and members of the Canadian Armed Forces for bravery. Members of the military were still eligible for the various imperial gallantry decorations, though there were no such allowances for other recognition (see chapter 5). The 1956 policy also allowed for Canadians to accept foreign honours under certain circumstances. This was the first time since the Second World War that Canadian civilians were permitted to accept foreign honours.

      The final Canadian to be awarded an imperial honour on the advice of the Canadian government came in 1968 when Captain (Nursing Sister) Josephine A. Cashin of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) with gallantry emblem. This was in recognition of her bravery in assisting with the rescue effort following the crash of a Czechoslovakian State Airline plane near Gander International Airport in September 1967.

      Establishing the Canadian Honours System, 1967