Petition To Award The Order Of Canada To Don Cherry.

Some Conservatives are backing a petition to award the Order of Canada to Don Cherry. Others, from the province of Quebec, are opposed. One camp says that because of his accomplishments in hockey, he should receive the honour, while another says his remarks about francophones and Quebec should be an automatic disqualifier. Cherry was recently awarded the Order of Ontario.

I see some merit in both arguments, but to settle it, I want to apply the Ahenakew Test: his remarks were judged by the OC Advisory Council as having brought disrepute to the Order of Canada, and GG Clarkson stripped him of his membership.

In both cases, I do not wish to cite the controversial remarks, but Cherry's constitute a pattern. In this case, the AC would have to examine the comments in question and then recommend to the GG whether the award should go ahead. 

I have read the texts of the offensive remarks, and they fail to meet the standard for the award. I have not seen any clarification or contrition coming from Cherry, which is surprising. 

So, in the end, I stand with most of the Quebec Conservative MPs. This should be a teaching moment for the party because, quite obviously, English-speaking CPC MPs don't get it, not one bit. That leaves the leader in a tough spot, having apparently already signed the petition. Ouch. We do indeed still live in a world of three solitudes. What a terrible shame for the country.