Order of Canada Revoked for Stephen Fonyo

Liberalman

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Mar 18, 2007
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What a disgrace and I am sure the Conservative government is behind it. This is another example of what they would do if they had a majority which is take away more Canadian rights
 

karrie

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Jan 6, 2007
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I think "felon" is a little strong, if not I suppose the Premier of B.C. could fall into that category. Fonyo's currently doing 30 days on weekends for driving infractions. In the past he had more serious convictions, and the fact they didn't revoke it then says to me they shouldn't be revoking it now. But then I'm the first to say there is an exception to every rule.

I think the fact that they didn't revoke it on the first round speaks to a sense of humanity... that it's human to fall from grace sometimes. That it's human to suffer addiction. That it's human to not be perfect. I think it speaks to a great deal of grace on their part to give him a chance to turn his life around. He's just proven he can't is all.

And felon applies from what I've read. I use it to drive home the fact that impaired operation of a motor vehicle IS a felony offence, not something to take lightly.
 

DurkaDurka

Internet Lawyer
Mar 15, 2006
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It's not like this criminal problems were a one off situation, he has multiple convictions over the past two decades. Did anyone put up this sort of a fuss after Alan Eagleson was striped of his Order after he bilked the NHL players association for years on end?

Fonyo loses Order of Canada to lengthy criminal record | Kelowna.com

"Addicted to cocaine and alcohol, he accumulated a lengthy criminal record for crimes such as assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, theft and fraud in the 1990s. He was convicted of drunk driving five times and driving without a licence seven times.
Last August, Fonyo was in trouble with the law again. The 44-year-old heavy-machinery mechanic pleaded guilty in provincial court in Surrey to a charge of assault.
He was sentenced to one day in jail after being credited with 10 days for time served.
He also was sentenced to one year of probation, but was back in court five days after that for breaching conditions of his probation. That episode earned him a 14-day jail term."
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
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Being a Professional Engineer, I can be stripped of my membership in the Association if convicted of a criminal offense.

So why is it an issue that someone can lose membership in a club if convicted? T'aint nothin but a tempest in a teapot. He did the crime, he has to live with the consequences.
 

VanIsle

Always thinking
Nov 12, 2008
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Jeez, it's a good thing it's not a cash award (is it?) or else they'd be asking for a refund. I guess turning from a superhero into a human being with problems is not acceptable to the Order of Canada people. I agree with you...the award was given for a specific deed and that should still stand. Big Brother seems to be watching these things closely...for life!
Steve Fonyo was a loser from the get go. He's a Vernon boy (just for JLM's info) and he's been in constant trouble with the law. He has been charged with many offences over the years. Maybe I have noticed more because I spent a total of 16 years living in Vernon and when it's a local boy who supposedly made good by doing a run that he did finish (he was trying to be a Terry Fox and just did not succeed). I don't know if his family just moved or what happened to them. They used to run a Perogie House that was quite a popular place but after he started to get into so much trouble, it just closed. Maybe his legal costs overwhelmed them or maybe the embarrassment was more than they wanted to handle. Who knows. He's been picked up for stealing cars and for, I believe, a lot of impaired driving. I just know that rather than being considered a local hero by the people of Vernon, he was considered the local embarrassment. I think everyone hoped he would grow out of it but he never did. His name was constantly in the news for his wrong doings. This is a log of his offences from Wikapedia: (More extensive than I thought and he lost the Order of Canada over a month ago)..........

Fonyo's brushes with the law have been well documented. In 1996, he pleaded guilty to 16 charges for offences in Edmonton, including assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, fraud for writing bad cheques totalling $10,000 to supermarkets and possession of a stolen vehicle. He has also been convicted at least five times of impaired driving and seven times of driving without a licence, most recently in the fall of 2008. On Aug.13, 2009, Fonyo, who was last known to have been working as a heavy-machinery mechanic, appeared in Surrey Provincial Court charged with one count of assault. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one day in jail. He was credited for 10 days already served. He was also subject to a one-year probation order. But just five days later, the 44-year-old was back in Surrey court, having breached his conditions. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 days in jail.[2] His membership in the Order of Canada was revoked in December 2009.[3][4]
 
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VanIsle

Always thinking
Nov 12, 2008
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What a disgrace and I am sure the Conservative government is behind it. This is another example of what they would do if they had a majority which is take away more Canadian rights
From time to time we all make inane comments. Did it ever occur to you to look it up before you came up with this bright idea? How did you ever come up with one governement being behind it. It has everything to do with Steve Fonyo and not whoever is leading the country at the moment. It's not a "dumb" act of gov't. There was a valid reason for him to lose the Order of Canada and he probably should have lost it a long time ago.
 

Mowich

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Dec 25, 2005
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Order of Canada Policy

“Paragraph 25, section C of the Constitution of the Order of Canada allows the Governor General of Canada to remove a person from the Order of Canada by issuing an ordinance based on a decision of the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada. This decision is based on 'evidence and guided by the principle of fairness and shall only be made after the Council has ascertained the relevant facts relating to the case under consideration.' A member of the Order can be removed for being convicted of a Crime in Canada or if the conduct of the person has otherwise brought dishonour to the Order. A person can also be removed from the Order if his or her personal conduct in public departs significantly from recognized standards and is seen as undermining the credibility, integrity, or relevance of the Order; if his or her conduct is a departure from what they have accomplished to be appointed to the Order; or if they have been subjected to an official sanction by an adjudicating body, professional association, or other organization. Official sanctions can include fines, reprimands, or disbarment (as was the case for Alan Eagleson). However, the only punishment the Advisory Council can issue is removal from the Order of Canada.”

“Recipients of the Order of Canada can have their honour revoked if the Order's Advisory Council feels that a recipient's actions have brought dishonour to the Order. As of 2010, only four people have been removed from the Order of Canada: Alan Eagleson, David Ahenakew, T. Sher Singh, and Steve Fonyo. Eagleson was removed from the Order after being jailed for fraud in 1998, Ahenakew was removed in 2005 after being convicted of promoting anti-Semitic hatred in 2002, Singh was removed after the revocation of his law license for professional misconduct, and Fonyo was removed due to numerous criminal convictions. The formal removal process is performed by the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada, though it can be initiated by any citizen of Canada.”

Others facing removal calls

Garth Drabinsky

Garth Drabinsky was a theatrical production mogul in Canada responsible for numerous successful productions in Canada, most notably the long running Toronto production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. In 2009, he was found guilty of fraud and forgery in Ontario, and has been a fugitive from American law for related crimes.

T. Alex Hickman, O.C.

A man by the name of Byron Prior has asked for T. Alex Hickman, the former Justice Minister of Newfoundland, to be removed from the Order since 2003. Prior claims that one of his sisters was raped by Hickman and that Hickman is trying to cover it up. The Chancellery of Honours was sent a letter about Hickman's removal and the letter was placed in a file for Hickman. Hickman was appointed to the grade of Officer for his long time service to the Canadian Government and to the Canadian legal system.

Guy Damien Lafleur, O.C.

Lafleur was found guilty of giving contradictory evidence at his son’s trial in September 2007. Subsequently, Lafleur was given a suspended sentence, a fine of $100 and had to make a charitalbe contribution in the amount of $10,000. He did not serve time nor did he have to do any community service work.

Lord Black of Crossharbour

Media baron Conrad Black has been a controversial figure in Canada for many years and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1990. He surrendered his Canadian citizenship to become a British life peer in 2001. He remains in the Order of Canada. In 2005 he was formally charged in the United States on charges of racketeering, obstruction of justice, money laundering and wire fraud. Due to his conviction in 2007, a council will meet to decide if Black will remain in the Order. The Order of Canada advisory council to the Governor General is expected to meet in the autumn of 2007 to discuss Conrad Black's appointment to the honour. It has been suggested that his expulsion may not be considered until after he has completed the process of appealing his conviction.

Removal from the Order of Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IMHO, Guy Lafleur is the only recipient who might have a case for keeping his medal. Fonyo definitely does not deserve to keep his.
 

TenPenny

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Jun 9, 2004
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T Alan Hickman doesn't appear to have been charged or convicted, so you'd have to agree that there's no call to remove his OC.

Guy Lafleur received a suspended sentence, so he shouldn't lose his.

The others should, and I'm sure they will given time.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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T Alan Hickman doesn't appear to have been charged or convicted, so you'd have to agree that there's no call to remove his OC.

Guy Lafleur received a suspended sentence, so he shouldn't lose his.

The others should, and I'm sure they will given time.
A member of the Order can be removed for being convicted of a Crime in Canada or if the conduct of the person has otherwise brought dishonour to the Order. A person can also be removed from the Order if his or her personal conduct in public departs significantly from recognized standards and is seen as undermining the credibility, integrity, or relevance of the Order; if his or her conduct is a departure from what they have accomplished to be appointed to the Order
T Alan hackman is a raving drunken crackhead that operates stolen, 1500kg motor vehicle on public highways and has a record that would make a gangster rapper jealous?

This guy needs serious help with unresolved mental health issues that obviously predate his transnational ventures.
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
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T Alan hackman is a raving drunken crackhead that operates stolen, 1500kg motor vehicle on public highways and has a record that would make a gangster rapper jealous?

I didn't look up his record, I was basing my comment on the post above, which says that some guy accused him of something.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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I didn't look up his record, I was basing my comment on the post above, which says that some guy accused him of something.
Fonyo has been given chance after chance after chance to prove himself a man. He was still a boy when he did a noble thing but either he was getting a walk (no pun intended) or he is immature. He can be a man after 44 years and face the consequences. Anybody else would have been sent to the hoosegow long ago where they can be babysat and hopefully grow up not just grow old.
 

Mowich

Hall of Fame Member
Dec 25, 2005
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I don't know who T Alan Hickman or T Alan Hackman are guys, but Thomas Alexander Hickman was a former minister of justice in NFLD.
 

countryboy

Traditionally Progressive
Nov 30, 2009
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Jeez, I'll never have to worry about it of course, but I don't think I'd want the pressure of having the Order of Canada bestowed on me. I'd be doomed to meeting high standards for the rest of my life! Pressure and stresssssss....
 

Mowich

Hall of Fame Member
Dec 25, 2005
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I didn't look up his record, I was basing my comment on the post above, which says that some guy accused him of something.

Thomas Alexander Hickman was a former Minister of Justice of NFLD. As far as I know he has never been convicted of anything.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
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Jeez, I'll never have to worry about it of course, but I don't think I'd want the pressure of having the Order of Canada bestowed on me. I'd be doomed to meeting high standards for the rest of my life! Pressure and stresssssss....

Pressure yes. But, one has to accept the honour too, not just have it 'bestowed' on them. It's a choice, like any others we make in our lives. He knew what it was all about.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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If the people who award the honour had just talked to Fonyo first they might not have named him as a member. Just a rough guess but I think Fonyo has an I.Q. of maybe 80. I always felt a bit sorry for Fonyo because no matter what he did, he was never going to get the celebrity and love that Terry Fox got. The night that Terry Fox had to quit his run because of his health, was there a Canadian anywhere who didn't shed a tear for him. It was a huge act to follow.