June 7, 2005 OTTAWA - Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, announced today the awarding of 14 Decorations for Bravery. Recipients will be invited to accept their decorations at a ceremony to be held at a later date. On the recommendation of the Canadian Decorations Advisory Committee (Bravery), the Governor General has announced the following awards: Medal of Bravery Lori Abbott, M.B. Regina, Saskatchewan Patrice Bernier, M.B. Sainte-Julie, Quebec Sebastian Donnelly, M.B. (posthumous) Winnipeg, Manitoba Michel Gauthier, M.B. Blainville, Quebec Élie Gilbert, M.B. St-Frédéric, Quebec Captain Bruce Gundling, M.B., C.D. Winnipeg, Manitoba Jeffrey A. Hawkins, M.B. Swan River, Manitoba Gordon Ihlen, M.B. Merritt, British Columbia. Renny Michael Kafka, M.B. Portage La Prairie, Manitoba Mary Lucille Knight, M.B. Laurier, Manitoba Constable Stephen Knight, M.B. Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador Claude Lesage, M.B. Pointe-Claire, Quebec Frank John Supernak, M.B. (posthumous) Osoyoos, British Columbia Melanie Roxanne Warner-Cain, M.B. (posthumous) Cornwall, Ontario The Decorations for Bravery were established in 1972 as part of the Canadian Honours System. The Cross of Valour is awarded for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril. The Star of Courage is awarded for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril. The Medal of Bravery is awarded for acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances. -30- Media information Eric Richer Rideau Hall Press Office (613) 998-7280 www.gg.ca Public information The Chancellery of Honours (613) 993-2569 or 1 800 465-6890 CITATIONS Lori Abbott, M.B., Regina, Saskatchewan Medal of Bravery On April 4, 2004, Lori Abbott rescued an 11-year-old boy who was trapped between two sheets of shifting ice on the Qu'Appelle River, in Lumsden, Saskatchewan. Numbed by the frigid water, the boy was slowly losing his grip on the edge of the ice and slipping under the surface. Alerted to the child's predicament, Ms. Abbott entered the water, waded to reach the ice pan a few metres away, and pulled herself up onto the chunk of ice. Crawling onto the thin surface, she made her way to the nearly submerged boy and managed to haul him out of the icy water. Holding on to each other, Ms. Abbott and the child inched their way back until they reached the shore. Patrice Bernier, M.B., Sainte-Julie, Quebec Medal of Bravery On the evening of January 22, 2004, Patrice Bernier risked his life to rescue a friend from drowning after the ice had given way under the weight of his snowmobile, on the Richelieu River, near St-Charles, Quebec. Mr. Bernier, driving the lead snowmobile, noticed that his friend was no longer following him. He went back to investigate and spotted him in a hole in the ice, in the middle of the river, desperately battling the fierce current pulling him below the surface. Fighting the high winds and drifting snow, Mr. Bernier crawled on the thin surface until he reached the edge of the hole. He grabbed his friend's hand and managed to pull him from the freezing water after several attempts. He then dragged him to a nearby residence where they received assistance Sebastian Donnelly, M.B. (posthumous), Winnipeg, Manitoba Medal of Bravery On November 1, 2003, Sebastian Donnelly lost his life while trying to rescue a friend from drowning at Lake of the Woods, Ontario. The waves had picked up and had flipped their canoe over, throwing Mr. Donnelly and his three companions into the frigid waters. Aware that one of his friends could not swim, Mr. Donnelly grabbed him under the arm and tried to swim with him against the strong current to reach shore. Overcome by exhaustion from fighting the powerful surf, he could no longer hold on to his friend and both disappeared under the surface and drowned. Michel Gauthier, M.B., Blainville, Quebec Claude Lesage, M.B., Pointe-Claire, Quebec Medal of Bravery On June 14, 2003, Michel Gauthier and Claude Lesage rescued a man from a burning boat following an explosion at the gas pier of Dorval Marina, in Montreal, Quebec. In spite of the fire and the risk of other explosions, Mr. Gauthier and Mr. Lesage ran to the yacht moments after the blast. Through a small opening in the smoke-filled pilot house, Mr. Gauthier spotted the victim's hand. He reached inside and, assisted by Mr. Lesage, pulled the severely injured man from the wreckage. Both rescuers then carried him a safe distance away from the danger zone, where others provided first aid. Élie Gilbert, M.B., St-Frédéric, Quebec Medal of Bravery On May 29, 2004, Élie Gilbert saved a man from a fiery death, following an accident on Highway 117, in La Vérendrye Park, Quebec. Seconds after a semi-trailer collided head-on with a pickup truck and erupted into a fireball, Mr. Gilbert raced to the scene through a wall of thick smoke and toxic fumes. Jumping over the massive torn-out engine of the transport truck in the ditch, he made his way to the injured driver who had collapsed after getting out of the burning cabin of his vehicle. Mr. Gilbert then carried the heavy victim on his shoulder up the embankment, a safe distance away from the blaze. Tragically, the three occupants of the other vehicle perished in the accident. Captain Bruce Gundling, M.B., C.D., Winnipeg, Manitoba Medal of Bravery On March 27, 2004, Capt Bruce Gundling risked his life to prevent a suicidal woman from jumping into the Rideau River Falls, in Ottawa, Ontario. Capt Gundling was walking his dog with his son when he observed the victim climbing over a barrier and onto the edge of a concrete platform above the raging river. Moments later, when he witnessed the distressed woman pull a razor blade and slash her wrist, Capt Gundling seized the opportunity of a momentary distraction to leap over two barriers and a concrete wall to reach her side. He then wrestled the frantic woman to disarm and restrain her for the 10 minutes it took for others to arrive at the scene and help pull her over the wall to safety. Jeffrey A. Hawkins, M.B., Swan River, Manitoba Renny Michael Kafka, M.B., Portage La Prairie, Manitoba Mary Lucille Knight, M.B., Laurier, Manitoba Medal of Bravery On July 29, 2001, Jeffrey Hawkins, Renny Kafka and Lucille Knight helped with the safe evacuation and rescue of residents from a burning boarding house for people with special needs, in Laurier, Manitoba. After Mrs. Knight located the fire on the third floor, Mr. Kafka and Mr. Hawkins joined her in alerting the occupants on all three floors and assisting them to get outside. As the fire raged on, some disoriented residents had managed to avoid staff and emergency workers and reentered the burning structure. Although hindered by the intense heat and choking smoke, the rescuers went back into the dwelling several times and persisted in their efforts until they had to retreat from the failing structure, moments before it was engulfed in flames. Gordon Ihlen, M.B., Merritt, B.C. Medal of Bravery On October 25, 2003, Gordon Ihlen came to the aid of a woman who was being stabbed, in Castelgar, British Columbia. Mr. Ihlen was working in the entranceway of a nearby restaurant when he saw a knife-wielding man physically assaulting the screaming woman. Without concern for his own safety, Mr. Ihlen ran to the scene and tackled the assailant until he released the victim. Fearing that she would be injured further, Mr. Ihlen placed himself between the woman and her aggressor, who thrust the weapon towards him at full arms' length. When Mr. Ihlen screamed for help, others arrived and chased the attacker away. Constable Stephen Knight, M.B., Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador Medal of Bravery On January 24, 2005, off-duty Cst. Stephen Knight, of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, risked his life to rescue a man from a vicious attack, in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Cst. Knight was in the area with his wife and some friends when he observed two individuals armed with knives attacking a man in a laneway. Although unarmed, Cst. Knight ran to the scene and, after identifying himself as a police officer, attempted to intervene in the altercation. The assailant turned to Cst. Knight, stabbed him on the back and inflicted knife wounds to his hand during the ensuing scuffle. In spite of his injuries, Cst. Knight was able to subdue the fleeing aggressor and restrain him until other police officers arrived. Frank John Supernak, M.B. (posthumous), Osoyoos, British Columbia Medal of Bravery On November 10, 2002, winemaker Frank Supernak lost his life in a failed attempt to save a co-worker who had accidentally fallen into a wine fermentation tank, in Oliver, British Columbia. Although aware of the danger caused by the poisonous carbon dioxide found within fermentation tanks, Mr. Supernak tried to pull his unconscious colleague from the container. When his efforts proved unsuccessful, he jumped into the vat and attempted to rescue his friend by lifting him out to safety. Within seconds, Mr. Supernak also succumbed to the deadly fumes and lack of oxygen, and could not be revived. Melanie Roxanne Warner-Cain, M.B. (posthumous), Cornwall, Ontario Medal of Bravery On October 4, 2002, Melanie Warner-Cain lost her life while trying to prevent a man from leaving the scene of a hit-and-run, in a parking lot in Cornwall, Ontario. After watching the vehicle accelerate in reverse and aim in the direction of the victim, Ms. Warner-Cain desperately knocked on the rear window in a vain attempt to alert the driver to the injured man. As a result, she was pulled under the wheels of the car and dragged for several feet, sustaining fatal injuries.
