The Order is awarded to, amongst others, scientists, artists, musicians, film and television stars, philanthropists and other distinguished figures in their respective fields, and honours those who have made outstanding contributions to Canada or other nations, with the exception of all politicians and federal and provincial judges whilst in office. It is awarded to those who, through their conduct, embody the motto taken from the biblical Letter to the Hebrews 11:16 and live by the Latin motto: Desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning ‘Longing for a better homeland’. The Order is always presented by the Governor General of Canada.

The Order of Canada has three classes:

Companion/Compagnon (CC) – up to 15 may be awarded annually.

Officer/Officier (OC) – no more than 64 may be awarded annually.

Member/Membre (CM) – up to 136 may be awarded annually.

Since its establishment, nearly eight thousand Canadians have been honoured with the Order of Canada, including several dozen Poles or Canadians of Polish descent. Some of them are buried in Canadian cemeteries. Among those honoured with the Order were:

Maria Adamowska-Panaro (1902–1989); she received the Order for her work and selfless assistance to immigrants in Winnipeg. She arrived in Canada with her parents and siblings in 1911. Here she completed her primary and secondary education at St John’s Technical High School. She later studied accountancy and administration. She began her professional career as a stenographer at a law firm. She subsequently became a manager in various departments of labour and commercial firms in Winnipeg. Between 1920 and 1925, she also served as secretary to the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in that city.

After thirty-six years of service at Arenovitch and Leisic, she retired, devoting all her spare time to others — she dedicated herself to voluntary work. She was appointed director of the International Centre. During this time, Maria Panaro was also very active in the Catholic Women’s League, the Federation of Polish Women in Canada and the Canadian Polish Congress, Manitoba Branch. In 1973, she became a member of the Copernicus Committee in the province of Manitoba.

In the book *Where Our Feet Take Us… Reports from Canada* ( *Oficyna Wydawnicza “Arax”, Białystok 1991*), the author recorded his meeting with Maria Panaro in Winnipeg as follows:

“She was involved in a wide variety of tasks organising numerous Polish community events. However, only one event remains most vividly etched in my memory — the mixing of Polish and Canadian soil on Copernicus Hill. ‘That was my greatest experience,’ recalls Mrs Panaro. ‘Because, just imagine, there I was, holding an urn containing soil from my Homeland as if it were the greatest treasure of all (if you ever write about this, please write “Homeland” with a capital “H”, please do me that favour), only to unite it a moment later with the soil of the country where I came of age and have spent my whole life…

Maria Panaro paused. She swallowed, as if confiding a most secret and deeply hidden mystery. She smoothed her hair, turning her face away to hide her emotion.

‘Soil from Poland and Canada,’ she sighed. ‘For me, this is not merely a symbol of the connection between the two countries; above all, it is an act of reconciliation and coming to terms. Yes, reconciliation — between a feverish, romantic longing for my homeland and the realities of life in Canada that make a return impossible…

Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes. I switched off the tape recorder.”

One of the autumn bulletins of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Polish Congress (from 1990) reported that on 14 June 1989, Maria Panaro-Adamowska died at the age of 87 at the Daughters of Charity Hospital in Edmonton. The brief obituary published there read: “May the Canadian soil be light upon her, and may she dream of the Polish soil, which she never forgot.”

In 1983, she was awarded the highest honour in the ‘Land of the Maple Leaf’ – the Order of Canada (Member) – for her work.

She passed away in Edmonton during a national meeting of the Polish-Canadian Women’s Federation. She is buried at St Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Engineer Eugeniusz Baranowski (1914–1985); a cadet corporal who took part in the battles for Narvik, and who, following the fall of France, studied at the Polytechnic Institute of the University of Grenoble. He arrived in Canada in 1942 and worked for many years at a company specialising in the design of paper mills. He was a well-known community activist within the Polish community in Montreal. Thanks to his commitment, in 1966 a monument to Nicolaus Copernicus (a replica of the Warsaw monument by Thorvaldsen) was erected at the Expo’67 in Montreal as a gift from the Polish community to the city (it currently stands at 1000 St. Jacques in Montreal).

He was awarded the Order of Canada (Member).

He died in Montreal and is buried at the Field of Honour cemetery in Pointe Claire, Quebec.

Dr Jerzy Adam Dobrowolski (1931–2013); a highly esteemed Polish scientist who completed his doctoral thesis at the University of London in the field of thin optical films. As a physicist, he was the first in the world to apply the results of his work in the fight against counterfeiters; he introduced a forgery-proof print on 50- and 100-dollar banknotes in Canada, on credit cards and on a wide variety of documents. Throughout his professional career, he worked at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). He authored over 190 articles, held more than 30 patents and wrote eight review chapters in books. He received numerous awards and honours, including Canada’s highest honour – the Order of Canada (Member).

He died in Ottawa and is buried at Notre-Dame Cemetery, whilst an obelisk with a commemorative plaque dedicated to this scientist has been unveiled at Beetchwood Cemetery (Ottawa, Ontario).

Hon. Donald (Don) Frank Mazankowski (1935–2020); a Canadian politician of Polish descent, born in the town of Viking, Alberta. A long-standing member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of the federal Parliament for 25 years. He served as a cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney. He was Minister of Finance, and in 1986 he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, a post he held until his retirement in 1993. He was the only person of Polish descent in the country’s history to have held such a high office. In 1992, Mazankowski was honoured to join a small group of distinguished Canadians who were awarded the title of ‘Honourable’.

He was twice awarded the Order of Canada (as an Officer in 2000 and as a Companion in 2013).

He died in Sherwood Park and was buried in the cemetery in Vegreville (Alberta), the town where he lived, where he won his first election and from where he set out into the world.

Professor Teodor Feliks Domaradzki (1910–2001) ; between 1930 and 1936 he studied at the Academy of Political Sciences in Warsaw, and three years later he was awarded a Master’s degree in philosophy and history from the University of Warsaw. Between 1941 and 1947, he was a lecturer in Polish at the State University of Rome and a professor of Slavic literature at the Gregorian University. He obtained his doctorate in Slavic philology and Polish literature.

Although he was offered numerous positions, he refused to return to communist Poland. In 1948, he arrived in Canada and founded the Centre for Slavic Studies at the University of Montreal, where he served as director and professor of Polish and Slavic literature. He also established departments of Slavic studies at the universities of Windsor and Ottawa. He was the author of numerous books, essays, monographs, articles, studies and translations into French, English and Italian of works by leading Polish poets and writers.

He was awarded the Order of Canada (Member).

He died in Montreal. He is buried in the family grave in the Polish section of the cemetery in Saint Sauveur, Quebec.

Tamara Jaworska (1918–2015); one of the world’s most outstanding visual artists specialising in artistic weaving. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, and later worked there as an assistant and lecturer. In 1969, she emigrated to Canada with her husband.

There, her unique tapestries were recognised as exemplars of the highest artistic craftsmanship in weaving and were exhibited in a wide variety of prestigious galleries, including the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, the National Museum in Warsaw, the Museum of Civilisation in Ottawa, the National Museum of Artistic Textiles in Łódź, the Home Army Museum in Kraków, the Scottish Art Museum in Galashields and many, many others. The artist’s works can be found both in museums around the world and in private collections. Tamara Jaworska has received numerous awards and honours. Several documentary films have been made about her, including one by her husband, Tadeusz Jaworski, one of the world’s most outstanding documentary filmmakers and the winner of numerous awards at national and international festivals. For *Twilight of the Sorcerers*, he was honoured by the United Nations. The award was granted for an outstanding contribution to ‘bringing nations closer together’. In Poland, he directed, amongst others: *The Source*, *A Place for School*, *I Was a Kapo*, *Memory and Repentance* and *The Secretary*. His film *Selling Out* was nominated for an Oscar in the short documentary category. In total, he made nearly 200 films.

This couple, who have rendered outstanding service to culture in Canada, despite having been given only a one-way ticket from Poland, never renounced their Polish citizenship and have always been proud of their heritage.

Tamara Jaworska was awarded the Order of Canada (Member) for her artistic achievements, and in Poland she received the Gloria Artis Medal for Services to Culture.

They passed away in Toronto and their ashes rest in the chapel at York Cemetery in Toronto, Ontario.

Prof. Hanna Maria Pappius (1925–2023); an outstanding scholar and a member of the board of the Polish Scientific Institute in Canada. Born in Kujawy, she arrived in Canada in 1940 from London, where her father, Air Force Colonel Bogdan Kwieciński, had served as military and air attaché at the Polish Embassy since 1937.

She studied at McGill University, obtaining a Master’s degree in 1948 and a PhD four years later. In 1953, she began working at the Donner Laboratory of Experimental Neurochemistry. After a few years, she became the first female professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery and in the Department of Biochemistry at McGill University. For almost seventy years, she made significant contributions to her field, conducting research into cerebral oedema and the effects of brain damage on neurotransmitter and receptor mechanisms. Throughout her distinguished career, she published over 100 scientific articles. She is also the co-author of a book entitled *Brain Electrolytes and Fluid Metabolism*, now regarded as a classic in the field.

She mentored and trained many experts who are now world-renowned neurologists. After retiring in 1995, Prof. Pappius served as chair of the Animal Care Committee at the Neurological Institute (until 2016) and was co-chair of its Research Ethics Committee for over a decade.

Since her student days, Prof. Pappius has maintained close ties with the Polish Scientific Institute. Between 1988 and 2015, she served as director of the Polish Library and, concurrently, as vice-president of the Institute.

Professor Hanna Maria Pappius was awarded the Order of Canada (Member) in recognition of her research in the field of neurochemistry and her work for the Polish-Canadian community, as well as for her advocacy for animal rights.

Professor Hanna Maria Pappius died in Montreal. She is buried in the family plot in the Polish section of the cemetery in Saint-Sauveur, Quebec (see: ‘Avenue of the Poles’ in Saint-Sauveur).

Alicja Poznańska-Parizeau (1930–1990); a Polish-Canadian writer, journalist and criminologist. She was one of the youngest participants in the Warsaw Uprising (awarded the Cross of Valour). After the war, she moved to Paris, where she studied at the Sorbonne, obtaining degrees in literature, law and political science. In 1955, she visited a friend from the Sorbonne in Quebec, where she signed a short-term contract that turned into a lifelong stay. The following year, she married the economist and politician Jacques Parizeau, who for nearly forty years played one of the most important roles in the Parti Québécois, the Quebec political party seeking the province’s secession from Canada. Although she was also a separatist, she is best known in Canada as a novelist and journalist: she wrote for *Cité libre*, *La Presse*, *Châtelaine*, *Le Devoir*, *La Patrie* and *Maclean’s*. She lectured in criminology at the University of Montreal. In her books, she often returned to Polish themes, and for one of her last novels, *Les lilas fleurissent à Varsovie* (*Lilacs Bloom in Warsaw*), she received first prize in a competition organised by the Union of French-Language Writers in Paris.

In 1987, she was honoured by the Governor General (the representative of the British Crown in Canada) with the Order of Canada (Member), a move hailed as a “huge scandal” in separatist Quebec.

She died in Outremont, in the province of Quebec. She is buried in the Parizeau family grave at the Notre-Dame-Des-Neiges cemetery in Montreal, Quebec.

Kazimierz Stańczykowski (1927–1981); Polish radio producer and founder of Canada’s first ethnic radio programmes. A former participant in the Warsaw Uprising, although he was an extremely well-known and highly regarded radio producer in journalistic circles, he sat on various committees within the radio and television industry and never forgot that he was Polish. He proudly emphasised his heritage, including in the radio programmes he created; at CHLP in Montreal, at the multilingual radio station CFMB, and at CKJS, the second ethnic station in Winnipeg. He was a well-known collector of Polish artefacts. Between 1968 and 1971, whilst serving as chair of the Quebec Ethnic Folk Arts Council, president of the Canadian Citizenship Federation and vice-chair of the Montreal Citizenship Council, as a football enthusiast he founded the Polish Football Club, and as he had been connected to Warsaw since birth, he named the team ‘Polonia’ (the same name as the Warsaw-based club founded in 1911). He was the recipient of numerous awards and honours, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Concordia University in Montreal. Sadly, his impressive career was cut short in 1981 by a tragic car accident in Rawdon, Quebec, in which Kazimierz Stańczykowski lost his life. In 1986, he was posthumously inducted into the CAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

He was awarded the Order of Canada (Member).

He is buried at the Notre-Dame-Des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec.

Major General Stefan Sznuk (1896–1986); (see: Final resting places of Polish generals). The Order of Canada, Second Class (Officer), was awarded to the general on 18 December 1970 for his services in facilitating the entry into Canada and integration into Canadian life of many new Canadians, particularly those of Polish origin.

Dr Henryk Marian Wójcicki (1916–2006); he completed his medical studies at the University of Edinburgh, then wrote his doctoral thesis on war neuroses, obtained a diploma as a specialist in psychiatry and headed the neuropsychiatry ward at the 1st Polish Military Hospital at Taymouth Castle in Perthshire, Scotland. In 1947, he was the head of the Neuropsychiatric Department at the Polish veterans’ hospital in Penley, Wales. In 1953, he emigrated with his family to Canada, where he served as clinical director at a large psychiatric hospital in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. In 1954, he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He held several senior positions at the Edmonton General, Gray Nuns and Misericordia hospitals, and was also a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine. He chaired a research group on addiction and played a key role in establishing the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC). In the final years of his career, he drew on his wealth of experience to serve as a member of the Alberta Audit Board and the Mental Health Review Panel.

Henryk Wójcicki was also a prominent figure in the Canadian Polish community. For many years, he served as president of the Polish-Canadian Congress, Alberta Branch.

In 1989, he was awarded the Order of Canada (Member).

He died in Edmonton and is buried at the local Catholic cemetery, Holy Cross, in Alberta.

Prof. Paweł Wyczyński (1921–2008), who wrote under the pen name ‘Paweł Wrzos’, was a poet and professor of French literature who graduated from the University of Lille in France. In 1951, he emigrated to Canada, where he became a lecturer in French literature at the University of Ottawa. In 1957 he was awarded his doctorate, and in 1964 he was appointed professor. In his academic work, he specialised in research into French-language literature in Canada. He gained particular renown for his works on the life and work of the poet Émile Nelligan (a biography and an edition of his complete works, co-edited with R. Robidoux) and his studies on the work of Laberge.

For seven years, he worked on the Royal Commission, established by Prime Minister Lester Pearson to investigate the introduction of two official languages (French and English) in Canada – The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.

He lectured at numerous universities, including in Brazil, France, England, Italy and Poland. He has been awarded four honorary doctorates (Laurencienne University in Sudbury, the University of Guelph, Laval University, and the Catholic University of Lublin).

He is the author, co-author and editor of over 62 books and more than 100 critical and literary articles. He has written a play in Polish and published two collections of poetry in Polish: *W słonecznej ciemni* and *Mowa korzeni*.

He received numerous awards for his academic achievements, including Canada’s highest honour – the Order of Canada (Member).

He died in Ottawa and is buried at the local Catholic cemetery in Beechwood, Ontario.

The Order of Canada, upon the death of the recipient, must, in accordance with the Constitution, be returned to the Governor-General, as it is the property of the British Crown. It may not be put up for auction or sold. It may only be passed on to the family as a memento of the deceased or donated to a museum.