Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: October 5, 1987
• Invested on: December 11, 1987

In the early afternoon of October 2, 1986, Daniel Courtemanche, an employee of the Public Works Department of the City of Montreal, was working in a park near the Rivière-des-Prairies when he heard the horrified screams of someone who saw a woman drowning some 150 metres away. Mr. Courtemanche immediately ran to the site and saw the victim's motionless body floating 20 metres from shore. He quickly undressed and plunged into the cold water of the river and, fighting the current, swam in the direction of the victim. He reached her and pulled her to shore, where a police officer who had arrived on the scene assisted him in pulling her from the water. Without the quick response of Mr. Courtemanche, the victim would have drowned.