Almost a year ago, I was advised that the Lieutenant Governor, Janice Filmon, as the Queen’s representative in Manitoba was joining with fellow Manitobans in celebrating and congratulating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on a remarkable 70 years of service. It was on February 6, 1952 that Her Majesty ascended the throne, making her the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is the international celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the thrones of seven countries including Canada on Feb. 6, 1952. She is the first monarch in Canada’s modern era to have celebrated a platinum jubilee. The Queen visited Manitoba six times, first as a princess in 1951 and most recently in 2010.
For seven decades, Her Majesty served the people of Canada and the Commonwealth with an unwavering discipline of dedication, integrity, kindness, and compassion. Her devoted leadership earned great respect and admiration from citizens around the world.
Manitoba has always enjoyed a very special relationship with Her Majesty and The Royal Family. Unfortunately, the Queen passed away on September 8, 2022. Who knew that the Queen would not live to see the medals received by recipients in Manitoba? Who knew that this would be the last of the special medals presented to commemorate the long reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II? Over the years we celebrated the silver, golden, diamond and now platinum jubilee. But this platinum jubilee will never be repeated in our lifetime and likely not in this century. This makes these medals even more precious for the recipients.
As we celebrated Her Majesty’s 70 years of extraordinary service as Queen of Canada and head of the Commonwealth, this commemorative medal allowed us to pay tribute to the Queen’s devotion to duty and her kindness and compassion to all by recognizing citizens across Manitoba who also make service to their communities a priority. The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal program honours significant contributions and achievements throughout Manitoba during this unprecedented anniversary year. From June 2022 onwards, 1,000 medal were awarded to deserving Manitobans commending them for their dedication and compassion to make Manitoba a place of hope and opportunity. Manitobans have a long and proud history of volunteerism and giving back to their community. The following guidelines were used when selecting deserving recipients: · A meaningful contribution to reconciliation · A meaningful contribution to community growth or volunteerism · A meaningful contribution to the promotion of Manitoba’s cultural fabric and diversity · Military service or support for veterans · A meaningful contribution to Manitoba’s pandemic response The awarding of this medal focused on the achievements of persons who have helped to build the Manitoba of today, including seniors, volunteers, veterans, and youth. The recipients will have distinguished themselves from others in the same field. I was honoured to be able to present medals to 10 of my constituents from Charleswood & Headingley on December 19th. There were also other recipients from the constituency of Roblin who received medals, but they were nominated by the Premier or other person designated to nominate recipients. Joining other MLAs and the new Lieutenant Governor, Honourable Anita Neville, the ceremony held at the Legislative Building was indeed an honour to attend. Recipients of the Platinum Jubilee Medal of Roblin Constituency are: Bill Brown – retired military, volunteer with Charleswood Legion and significant contributions to starting up the Charleswood Seniors Centre Barb Shumeley – driving force behind setting up the Breast Health Centre, one of Canada’s first comprehensive breast health programs; volunteer with new immigrants and sending “school” shoe boxes to students in Africa Marcy Beaucage – significant volunteer at Roblin Park Community Centre for over 35 years maintaining the rinks, slides, ice trails and ball diamonds Glenn Reimer – Retired teacher who volunteered in children’s sports, volunteer firefighter, supporting people with disabilities Gordon Goldsborough – Environmental scientist, author, educator, historian, past president of Manitoba Historical Society Janet Sigurdson – Volunteer with Board of Canadian Centre for Child Protection, General Counsel with Family Section. Susanne Moore – Retired as Recreation manager MacDonald-Headingley for 31 years; she showed vision and a lasting commitment to building sound community relationships through demonstrated leadership volunteerism, and collaboration.. Helen Whettier –Retired teacher who helped with 4-H (20 years) and many organizations including the local church participating in the choir, the church’s fundraising events, the toddler’s play program, the Headingley Grand Trunk Trail, and many more Len van Roon Sr. – Retired military, Founder & current member of Charleswood Historical Society and Museum, environmentalist Cameron Krisko – Founder of Swimmingly Manitoba, a non-profit group that aims to provide low cost swimming lessons to children with special needs The awarding of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal focused on the achievements of persons who have helped to build the Manitoba of today, including seniors, volunteers, veterans, and youth. The recipients will have distinguished themselves from others in the same field. Recipients are respected individuals within their community. The recipients’ names will be part of the public record.