Receiving Order of Canada was 'emotional,’ Gordon says

Former Sudbury and Greater Sudbury Mayor Jim Gordon received his Order of Canada last Monday from Governor General David Johnston, in a ceremony held in Ottawa.

Gordon said it was especially meaningful to receive the honour from Johnston, a former Sudburian himself.

"When I went up to receive the medal, he said, 'Copper Cliff in Sudbury,' ” Gordon said. “And I said 'Yes, I finally got here.'"

The announcement that he was receiving the Order of Canada took place at the end of December of 2014. But because the number of people who receive the award – there was about 90 people announced in 2014 – Gordon said they stagger the ceremonies.

"They have the investiture ceremony over a period literally every half year, a different group is brought in and it happens," he said.

The former mayor, who was also briefly a Tory MPP in the 1980s, said most of his large family was able to attend the ceremony. It was a big moment for him, Gordon said.

“On the way to the ceremony with (his wife) Donna, I turned to her and I said, 'You know, I'm feeling emotional,'” he said. “And I think the reason why, really, first of all, my parents, in particular, and Donna and my family, we all believe that what we're supposed to be doing in life is using our talents for others, using your talents as best you can."

That belief was reflected in the motto of the award, Gordon said, which is Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam – latin for 'They desire a better country.'

"And you know, that's exactly what allowed me to be able to use the talents I was born with,” Gordon said. "The people who made it possible for me to get that Order of Canada were the people of Sudbury and the North who had many different projects that they wanted to see realized. And I was just fortunate enough to have been born with those talents.

"So working with, for example, the cancer treatment people, other people who came to my office over the years, saying we don't have enough doctors, all these kinds of things, working with my colleagues, the politicians in the region and the municipality and at Queen's Park."

While he was sometimes the face of the efforts as a politician, Gordon said they were always collective efforts on issues that were deeply important to Sudbury.

“So for me, not only is this very exciting, and I really appreciate the honour, but at the same time, it is an honour for all of us Northerners,” he said. "We have have made the North a better place. We've diversified Sudbury, we have all kinds of new institutions that have grown and flourished."

While retired from politics, Gordon is still active on a number of fronts, including efforts to sponsor refugees from Syria who are fleeing civil war and want to start a new life here.

"So even now we're bringing in refugees, we're bringing in people from other parts of the world, because we want to give them hope, we want to give them meaning and purpose that we have,” he said. “That's what it means to build a better Canada."

Established in 1967 by Queen Elizabeth, the Order of Canada is “the cornerstone of the Canadian Honours System, and recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation,” the governor general's website says.

“The Order recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society. Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country. Since its creation, more than 6 000 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order.”