Editing Order of Canada (section)

==Eligibility and appointment==
{{Main article|Appointment to the Order of Canada}}
[[File:EIIR-OoC.jpg|thumb|[[Elizabeth II]], [[Monarchy of Canada|Queen of Canada]] and Sovereign of the Order of Canada, invests [[Jules Léger]] as a Companion of the order at [[Rideau Hall]], August 1973.]]

Any of the three levels of the Order of Canada are open to all living Canadian citizens,<ref>{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=9.1}}</ref> except all federal and provincial politicians and judges while they hold office. The order recognizes the achievement of outstanding merit or distinguished service by [[Canadians]] who made a major difference to Canada through lifelong contributions in every field of endeavour, as well as the efforts made by non-Canadians who have made the world better by their actions. Membership is thus accorded to those who exemplify the order's Latin [[motto]], taken from {{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=World English|book=Hebrews|chapter=11|verse=16}} of the [[Christian Bible]], {{lang|la|desiderantes meliorem patriam}}, meaning "they desire a better country."<ref name="pch" /> Each of the six to eight hundred nominations submitted each year,<ref name=McCreeryG&M>{{Citation| last=McCreery| first=Christopher| author-link=Christopher McCreery| date=31 March 2009| type=Interview| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/controversy-and-the-order-of-canada/article20385319/| title=Controversy and the Order of Canada| periodical=The Globe and Mail| access-date=24 October 2014| archive-date=16 October 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016215323/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/controversy-and-the-order-of-canada/article20385319/| url-status=live}}</ref> by any person or organization, is received by the order's Advisory Council, which, along with the governor general, makes the final choice of new inductees, typically by consensus rather than a vote;<ref name=McCreeryG&M /> a process that, when conceived, was the first of its kind in the world.<ref name=McCreeryG&M /> Appointees are then accepted into the organization at an investiture ceremony typically conducted by the governor general at Rideau Hall, although the monarch or a provincial viceroy may perform the task, and the ceremony may take place in other locations. Since the 1991 investiture of [[Edward S. Rogers Jr.|Ted Rogers]], Order of Canada installment ceremonies have been broadcast on various television channels and the Internet; recipients are given a complimentary video recording of their investiture ceremony from [[Rogers Cable]].<ref>{{citation|work=CPAC |url=http://www.cpac.ca/forms/index.asp?dsp=template&act=view3&pagetype=vod&lang=e&clipID=2224 |title=Order of Canada Investiture Ceremony, 12 December 2008 |medium=Video |publisher=Rogers Media |year=2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220125348/http://www.cpac.ca/forms/index.asp?dsp=template&act=view3&pagetype=vod&lang=e&clipID=2224 |archive-date=20 February 2012 }}</ref>

At certain periods, holders of the order were presented with other awards, usually commemorative medals. Thus far, two commemoratives have been given automatically to every living member of the Order of Canada: the [[Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal]] in 1977<ref name=VAC>{{citation| url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/collections/cmdp/mainmenu/group10/qeiijm| last=Veterans Affairs Canada| author-link=Veterans Affairs Canada| title=Canada Remembers > Records & Collections > Canadian Orders, Medals and Decorations > Canadian Military Medals and Decorations > Commemorative Medals > Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal (1977)| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=24 October 2011| archive-date=18 January 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118214953/http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/collections/cmdp/mainmenu/group10/qeiijm| url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal]] in 2012.<ref>{{citation| url=http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2012/2012-02-04/html/order-decret-eng.html| last=Government of Canada| title=Letters patent creating the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal| journal=Canada Gazette| volume=146| number=5| date=4 February 2012| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=14 June 2012| archive-date=11 February 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211190718/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2012/2012-02-04/html/order-decret-eng.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Advisory council===
[[File:A coin of the Seal of the Order of Canada.png|thumb|right|Seal of the Order of Canada]]
The task of the order's advisory council is to evaluate the nominations of potential inductees, decide if the candidates are worthy enough to be accepted into the order, and make recommendations to the governor general, who appoints the new members. The council is chaired by the [[chief justice of Canada]], and includes the [[Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada)|clerk of the Privy Council]], the deputy minister of [[Department of Canadian Heritage|Canadian Heritage]], the chair of the [[Canada Council for the Arts]], the president of the [[Royal Society of Canada]], the chair of the [[Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada]], and five members of the order who sit on the council for a three-year period. If a nomination involves a non-Canadian citizen, the deputy minister of [[Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade|Foreign Affairs]] is invited by the Advisory Council to offer evaluation.<ref name="Advisory Council"/> Decisions of the council and new appointments to and dismissals from the Order of Canada are announced through the ''[[Canada Gazette]]''.<ref name=McCreery2010>{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2010| p=6}}</ref>

{{As of|July 2024}}, the members of the advisory council are:<ref name="Advisory Council">{{cite news|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/canadian-honours/order-canada/advisory-council|title=Advisory Council|website=The Governor General of Canada|date=25 September 2017|access-date=12 July 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809120202/https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/canadian-honours/order-canada/advisory-council|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Richard Wagner (judge)|Richard Wagner]], [[Chief Justice of Canada]] (Chair)
* [[Ewan Affleck]]
* [[Susan Aglukark]]
* [[John Hannaford (Canadian civil servant)|John Hannaford]], [[Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada)|Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet]]
* Sharon Davis-Murdoch
* Marie Yvonne Delorme
* Stephanie Dixon
* Alain-G. Gagnon, President of the [[Royal Society of Canada]]
* [[Daniel Germain]]
* [[Karina LeBlanc]]
* Isabelle Mondou, [[Deputy minister (Canada)|Deputy Minister]] of the [[Canadian Heritage|Department of Canadian Heritage]]
* [[Deep Saini]], Chair of [[Universities Canada]] and President & Vice-Chancellor of [[McGill University]]
* [[Jesse Wente]], Chair of the [[Canada Council for the Arts]]

===Refusal===
Few have declined entry into the Order of Canada; {{as of|1997|lc = y}}, 1.5 per cent of offered appointments to the order had been refused.<ref>{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=209}}</ref> The identities of those individuals who have declined induction since the 1970s are kept confidential, so the full list is not publicly known. Some, however, have spoken openly about their decisions, including [[Robert Weaver (editor)|Robert Weaver]], who stated that he was critical of the "three-tier" nature of the order;<ref>{{citation| url=http://archives.cbc.ca/on_this_day/01/02/| title=On This Day > Jan. 2, 1988 > Did You Know?| publisher=CBC| access-date=22 June 2008| archive-date=20 January 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120210728/http://archives.cbc.ca/on_this_day/01/02/| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Claude Ryan]] and [[Morley Callaghan]], who both declined the honour in 1967; [[Mordecai Richler]], who twice declined; and [[Marcel Dubé]], [[Roger Lemelin]] and [[Glenn Gould]], who all declined in 1970.<ref name=McCreery210>{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=210}}</ref> However, all the above individuals, save for Gould, later did accept appointment into the order. Others have rejected appointment on the basis of being supporters of the [[Quebec sovereignty movement]], such as Luc-André Godbout,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGFYX-VzoKkC&q=Luc-Andr%C3%A9+Godbout&pg=PA70 |title=Alienation and Art |publisher=Robert Martin Fink |last=Fink|first=Robert|date=1976|access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref> [[Rina Lasnier]] and [[Geneviève Bujold]],<ref name=McCreery210 /> while [[Alice Parizeau]], another supporter of Quebec sovereignty, was criticized for accepting entry into the order despite her beliefs.<ref>{{citation| url=http://archives.radio-canada.ca/c_est_arrive_le/09/30/| title=Alice Parizeau, d'espoir et de liberté| publisher=CBC| language=fr| access-date=24 October 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204022431/http://archives.radio-canada.ca/c_est_arrive_le/09/30/| archive-date=4 February 2012}}</ref>
[[File:The Duke of Edinburgh as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Regiment.jpg|thumb|left|[[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], wearing at the neck the insignia of a Companion of the Order of Canada. Philip originally declined an honorary appointment to the Order of Canada, feeling the offer implied he was a foreigner to Canada. In April 2013, he accepted appointment as the first extraordinary Companion.]]

Victoria Cross recipient [[Charles Merritt|Cecil Meritt]] cited the fact that he already held Canada's highest decoration as a reason not to be admitted to the Order of Canada.<ref name=McCreery210 /> [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], was in 1982 offered appointment to the order as an honorary Companion; however, he refused on the grounds that, as the [[List of Canadian monarchs#Consorts|consort]] of the Queen, he was a Canadian and thus entitled to a substantive appointment.<ref>{{citation| last1=Bell| first1=Lynne| last2=Bousfield| first2=Arthur| last3=Bousfield| first3=Gary| title=Queen and Consort| publisher=Dundurn Press| year=2007| page=161| isbn=978-1-55002-725-9}}</ref><ref name=McCreery5>{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2010| p=5}}</ref> In 1993, the Advisory Council proposed an amendment to the constitution of the Order of Canada, making the monarch's spouse automatically a Companion, but Prince Philip again refused, stating that if he was to be appointed, it should be on his merits.<ref>{{Citation| last=Valpy| first=Michael| author-link=Michael Valpy| title=The Fresh Prince| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=28 September 2002| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/backgrounder/queen/stories/related02.html| access-date=27 July 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051202235324/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/backgrounder/queen/stories/related02.html| archive-date=2 December 2005}}</ref> Congruent with these arguments, he in 1988 accepted without issue a substantive induction as a Companion of the [[Order of Australia]]. In 2013, the constitution of the Order of Canada was amended in a way that permitted the substantive appointment of Royal Family members and Prince Philip accepted induction as the first extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada on 26 April 2013.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15063| author=<!--Not stated-->| title=Governor General Presents Canadian Honours to His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh| date=26 April 2013| website=The Governor General of Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=28 April 2013| archive-date=13 December 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213083134/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15063| url-status=live}}</ref> Former [[Premier of Newfoundland]] [[Joey Smallwood|Joseph Smallwood]] declined appointment as a Companion because he felt that, as a self-proclaimed [[Fathers of Confederation|Father of Confederation]], he deserved a knighthood.<ref name=McCreery210 /> Smallwood was never knighted and later accepted induction as a Companion.<ref>{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=168}}</ref>

===Resignation and removal===
{{Main article|Removal from the Order of Canada}}
Resignations from the order can take place only through prescribed channels, which include the member submitting to the Secretary General of the Order of Canada a letter notifying the chancellery of his or her desire to terminate their membership, and only with the governor general's approval can the resignation take effect.<ref>{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=25.b}}</ref> On 1 June 2009, the governor general accepted the resignations of astronomer and inventor [[René Racine]], pianist [[Jacqueline Richard]], and Cardinal [[Jean-Claude Turcotte]];<ref>{{citation| url=http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5761| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| author-link=Governor General of Canada| title=Media > News Releases and Messages > Resignations from the Order of Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=1 June 2009| access-date=1 June 2009| archive-date=24 January 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124044833/http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5761| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation| last=Public Works and Government Services Canada| author-link=Public Works and Government Services Canada| title=Government House > Terminations of Appointment to the Order of Canada| journal=Canada Gazette| volume=143| issue=22| page=1574| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=30 May 2009| url=http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2009/2009-05-30/pdf/g1-14322.pdf| access-date=6 November 2009| archive-date=17 June 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617050059/http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2009/2009-05-30/pdf/g1-14322.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> on 11 January 2010, the same was done for [[Renato Giuseppe Bosisio]], an engineering professor, and Father [[Lucien Larré]];<ref>{{citation| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=11 January 2010| url=http://gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13477| access-date=11 January 2010| title=Resignations from the Order of Canada| archive-date=20 January 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120001753/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13477| url-status=live}}</ref> and on 19 April 2010 for [[Frank Chauvin]].<ref>{{Cite press release| title=Resignation from the Order of Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=19 April 2010| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13597| access-date=23 April 2010| archive-date=1 May 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501075442/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13597| url-status=live}}</ref> It was also reported that other constituents of the Order of Canada had, in reaction to [[Henry Morgentaler]]'s induction into their ranks, indicated that they would return or had returned their emblems in protest,<ref name=Catholic>{{citation|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontario-premier-supports-honours-for-morgentaler-1.759015 |title=Catholic group handing in Order of Canada over Morgentaler |date=8 July 2008 |publisher=CBC |access-date=8 July 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709195132/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/07/08/morgentaler-order.html |archive-date=9 July 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/former-n-b-lieutenant-governor-to-return-order-of-canada-in-protest-1.749669 |title=Former lieutenant-governor returns Order of Canada in protest |date=9 July 2008 |publisher=CBC |access-date=9 July 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710234936/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/07/09/nb-finn.html |archive-date=10 July 2008 }}</ref> including organizations such as the [[Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate]] and [[Madonna House Apostolate]] doing so on behalf of deceased former members.<ref name=Catholic /><ref>{{citation| url=http://www.mississauga.com/news-story/3143435-church-returns-order-of-canada-medals/| last=Chin| first=Joseph| title=Church returns Order of Canada medals| publisher=Mississauga News| date=8 December 2008| access-date=26 October 2014| archive-date=26 October 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026094053/http://www.mississauga.com/news-story/3143435-church-returns-order-of-canada-medals/| url-status=live}}</ref>

Members may be removed from the order if the Advisory Council feels their actions have brought the order into disrepute. In order for this to be done, the council must agree to take action and then send a letter to the person both telling of the group's decision and requesting a response. Anyone removed from the order is required to return their insignia. {{As of|2025|02|post=, }} nine people have been removed from the Order of Canada:<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/buffy-sainte-marie-s-order-of-canada-terminated-by-gg-1.7454259| title=Buffy Sainte-Marie's Order of Canada terminated by Governor General| date=7 February 2025| publisher=CBC News| newspaper=cbc.ca| access-date=7 February 2025| archive-date=8 February 2025| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208030352/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/buffy-sainte-marie-s-order-of-canada-terminated-by-gg-1.7454259| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Alan Eagleson]], who was dismissed after being jailed for fraud in 1998;<ref>{{citation| url=http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-41-1493-10073/sports/alan_eagleson/| title=Sports > Business of Sports > The Rise and Fall of Alan Eagleson| publisher=CBC| access-date=28 July 2009| archive-date=14 October 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014024200/http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-41-1493-10073/sports/alan_eagleson/| url-status=live}}</ref> [[David Ahenakew]], who faced calls for his removal due to [[antisemitic]] comments he made in 2002;<ref>{{citation| title=Quebec Cree Chief wants Ahenakew to lose Order of Canada| publisher=CBC| date=17 December 2002| url=http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=qc_mosesreax20021217| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028125320/http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=qc_mosesreax20021217| archive-date=28 October 2005| access-date=28 July 2009}}</ref> [[T. Sher Singh]], after the [[Law Society of Upper Canada]] found him guilty of professional misconduct and revoked his licence to practise law;<ref>{{citation| url=http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5685| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| author-link=Governor General of Canada| title=Revocation of Order of Canada membership of T. Sher Singh| date=6 April 2009| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=28 July 2009| archive-date=19 January 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119000450/http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5685| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Steve Fonyo]], due to "his multiple criminal convictions, for which there are no outstanding appeals";<ref>{{citation| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| author-link=Governor General of Canada| title=Revocation of the Order of Canada Membership of Stephen Fonyo, Jr| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=25 January 2010| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13497| access-date=25 January 2010| archive-date=31 January 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131020049/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13497| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation| title=Fonyo loses his Order of Canada| publisher=CBC| date=25 January 2010| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/fonyo-loses-his-order-of-canada-1.894005| access-date=26 October 2014}}</ref> [[Garth Drabinsky]], who was found guilty of fraud and forgery in Ontario and has been a fugitive from American law for related crimes;<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/livent-co-founders-drabinsky-gottlieb-convicted-of-fraud-and-forgery-1.778879| title=Livent co-founders Drabinsky, Gottlieb convicted of fraud and forgery| date=25 March 2009| publisher=CBC News| newspaper=cbc.ca| access-date=26 October 2014| archive-date=11 December 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211123446/http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/livent-co-founders-drabinsky-gottlieb-convicted-of-fraud-and-forgery-1.778879| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/02/27/garth_drabinsky_stripped_of_order_of_canada.html| title=Garth Drabinsky stripped of Order of Canada| date=27 February 2013| newspaper=Toronto Star| access-date=27 February 2013}}</ref> [[Conrad Black]], who was convicted in the United States in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice;<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/conrad-black-stripped-of-order-of-canada-1.2519299| title=Conrad Black stripped of Order of Canada| date=31 January 2014| publisher=CBC| access-date=1 February 2014| archive-date=1 February 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201155208/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/conrad-black-stripped-of-order-of-canada-1.2519299| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ranjit Chandra]], whose scientific work was discredited by allegations of fraud;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ranjit-chandra-order-stripped-1.3396295|title=Ranjit Chandra, medical researcher, stripped of Order of Canada|agency=The Canadian Press|publisher=CBC|date=8 January 2016|access-date=14 January 2020|archive-date=12 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212012943/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ranjit-chandra-order-stripped-1.3396295|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Johnny Issaluk]], following allegations of sexual misconduct;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2022/2022-10-15/html/gh-rg-eng.html | title=Canada Gazette, Part 1, Volume 156, Number 42: GOVERNMENT HOUSE | date=15 October 2022 | access-date=1 November 2023 | archive-date=20 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020130509/https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2022/2022-10-15/html/gh-rg-eng.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Not stated--> |agency=CBC News |date=17 October 2022 |title=Governor General strips Inuk Johnny Issaluk of Order of Canada |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/johnny-issaluk-order-of-canada-revoked-1.6619570 |work=CBC News |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=1 November 2023 |archive-date=16 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516042445/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/johnny-issaluk-order-of-canada-revoked-1.6619570 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Buffy Sainte-Marie]], after her claims of Indigenous ancestry were reported to be inconsistent with publicly available documents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 159, Number 6: GOVERNMENT HOUSE |url=https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2025/2025-02-08/html/gh-rg-eng.html |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=www.gazette.gc.ca |language=en |archive-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208235805/https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2025/2025-02-08/html/gh-rg-eng.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2013, [[Bernard Norman Barwin|Norman Barwin]] resigned from the order as a result of the Advisory Council moving forward with his pending removal due to his being found guilty of professional misconduct.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-doctor-loses-order-of-canada-after-sperm-mix-ups-1.1398704| newspaper=cbc.ca| title=Ottawa doctor loses Order of Canada after sperm mix-ups| date=3 August 2013| access-date=3 August 2013| archive-date=23 September 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923000254/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-doctor-loses-order-of-canada-after-sperm-mix-ups-1.1398704| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2013/2013-08-03/html/gh-rg-eng.html| title=Government House Termination of Appointment to the Order of Canada| journal=Canada Gazette| volume=147| date=3 August 2013| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=3 August 2013| archive-date=8 August 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808042020/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2013/2013-08-03/html/gh-rg-eng.html| url-status=live}}</ref> 

The Order's Advisory Council considered a request made in 2021 for the expulsion of [[Julie Payette]], the 29th Governor General of Canada, from the order. Payette, an Extraordinary Companion, resigned from the viceregal post over [[2020–2021 Rideau Hall workplace review|allegations of harassment of personnel]] at [[Rideau Hall]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/advisory-council-considers-terminating-julie-payette-from-order-of-canada-1.6121989| last=Burke| first=Ashley| title=Advisory council could strip Julie Payette of her Order of Canada| date=29 July 2021| publisher=CBC News| accessdate=25 August 2021}}</ref>

===Controversial appointments===
The advisory board attempts to remain apolitical and pragmatic in its approach to selecting new members of the Order of Canada, generally operating without input from [[Minister of the Crown|ministers of the Crown]]; political interference has occurred only once, when in 1978 [[Paul Desmarais]]'s investiture was delayed for six months by Prime Minister [[Pierre Trudeau]].<ref name=McCreeryG&M /> However, some of the committee's selections have caused controversy. For instance, the admission in 2001 of sex educator [[Sue Johanson]], host of the long-running ''[[Sunday Night Sex Show]]'', as a Member stirred controversy among some of Canada's Christian organizations, as Johanson had taught teenagers methods of [[safe sex]] alongside abstinence.<ref>{{citation| title=A deserving recipient| newspaper=Toronto Star| date=3 July 2008| url=https://www.thestar.com/comment/article/453124| access-date=5 July 2008| archive-date=4 August 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804170102/http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/453124| url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, the acceptance of [[birth control]] advocate [[Elizabeth Bagshaw]] and [[gay rights]] campaigner [[Brent Hawkes]] also incited debate.<ref name=McCreeryG&M />
[[File:HenryMorgentaler.jpg|thumb|left|[[Henry Morgentaler]] (right), with [[Jack Layton]] (left); Morgentaler's appointment was one of the most controversial in the history of the Order of Canada.]]

[[Abortion-rights movements|Abortion-rights]] activist Henry Morgentaler's appointment to the order on 1 July 2008 not only marked the first time the Advisory Council had not been unanimous in its decision, but also proved to be one of the most controversial appointments in the order's history.<ref name=McCreeryG&M /><ref name=McCreery2010 /> Opponents of Morgentaler's abortion activism organized protests outside of Rideau Hall on 9 July, while compatriots did the same in front of [[Government House (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Government House]] in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]], the official residence of [[Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador|that province's lieutenant governor]].<ref>{{citation| title=Former N.B. lieutenant-governor to return Order of Canada in protest| publisher=CBC| date=9 July 2008| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/former-n-b-lieutenant-governor-to-return-order-of-canada-in-protest-1.749669| access-date=26 October 2014| archive-date=26 October 2014| archive-url=https://archive.today/20141026143448/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/former-n-b-lieutenant-governor-to-return-order-of-canada-in-protest-1.749669| url-status=live}}</ref>

One former police detective, Frank Chauvin, along with a Catholic anti-abortion activist, filed suit against the Order of Canada Advisory Council, demanding that the minutes of the meeting relating to Morgentaler be made public.<ref>{{citation| last=Sonski| first=Peter| title=Exclusive: Abortionist's Order of Canada Appointment Brings Law Suit| journal=Headline Bistro| date=27 July 2008| publisher=Knights of Columbus| url=http://www.headlinebistro.com/hb/en/news/world/Morgentaler_lawsuit.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711160958/http://www.headlinebistro.com/hb/en/news/world/Morgentaler_lawsuit.html| archive-date=11 July 2011| access-date=27 July 2009}}</ref> The appointment of Morgentaler prompted former [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) [[Clifford Lincoln]] to write that the workings of the Advisory Council were "mysterious", citing what he theorized to be inbuilt partiality and [[conflict of interest]] as reasons why [[Margaret Somerville]], whom Lincoln had twice nominated to the Advisory Council, was turned down for appointment, yet Morgentaler was accepted.<ref>{{citation| last=Lincoln| first=Clifford| author-link=Clifford Lincoln| title=Should our top judge be choosing recipients of the Order of Canada?| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| date=15 July 2008| url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=478b56b1-633a-4aec-a9cc-99ff23d39e93| access-date=3 October 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107082634/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=478b56b1-633a-4aec-a9cc-99ff23d39e93| archive-date=7 November 2012}}</ref> Journalist Henry Aubin in the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' opined that the council's rejection of Somerville, her personal opposition to [[same-sex marriage]], and the acceptance of Brent Hawkes, [[Jane Vance Rule|Jane Rule]], and [[Jean Chrétien]], all regarded as supporting same-sex unions, as well as the appointment of a controversial figure such as Morgentaler, were all signs that the Advisory Council operated with partisan bias.<ref name=aubin>{{citation| last=Aubin| first=Henry| title=McGill ethicist refused OC because she was 'too controversial'| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| date=8 July 2008| url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/features/viewpoints/story.html?id=62cda378-0d93-4a8b-8d88-010af82ffe62| access-date=3 October 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104155543/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/features/viewpoints/story.html?id=62cda378-0d93-4a8b-8d88-010af82ffe62| archive-date=4 November 2012}}</ref> Aubin also pointed to the presence on the council of members of the Royal Society of Canada, an organization into which Somerville was received.<ref name=aubin />

[[Peter Savaryn]], a member of the [[14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician)|Waffen-SS Galician Division]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rudling |first=Per Anders |date=2012 |title='They Defended Ukraine': The 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (Galizische Nr. 1) Revisited |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13518046.2012.705633 |journal=The Journal of Slavic Military Studies |language=en |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=329–368 |doi=10.1080/13518046.2012.705633 |s2cid=144432759 |issn=1351-8046 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |access-date=5 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204054910/http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13518046.2012.705633 |url-status=live }}</ref> was awarded the Order of Canada in 1987,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-10-02 |title=University of Alberta facing calls to return thousands more in donations connected to Waffen SS veterans |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-university-of-alberta-facing-calls-to-return-thousands-more-in/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |archive-date=25 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925223617/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-university-of-alberta-facing-calls-to-return-thousands-more-in/ |url-status=live }}</ref> for which Governor General of Canada [[Mary Simon]] expressed "deep regret" in 2023.<ref>{{cite web | last=Golinkin | first=Lev | title=Exclusive: Canada apologizes for honoring another veteran from unit that fought with Nazis | website=The Forward | date=2023-10-04 | url=https://forward.com/fast-forward/562864/canada-nazi-ss-galachina-peter-savaryn-yaroslav-hunka-mary-simon/ | access-date=2023-10-04}}</ref>