Presentation of Decorations of Bravery

The Governor General presented 2 Stars of Courage and 39 Medals of Bravery at a ceremony at Rideau Hall on November 23, 2017.

On October 21, 2015, Vince Teddy rescued an elderly man whose Ski-Doo had broken through the ice near Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. As Mr. Teddy ran with a toboggan in tow toward the victim, the elder managed to pull himself back onto the ice. Mr. Teddy also fell through the ice, but managed to pull himself out and then crawl the remaining distance to the victim. He instructed the elder to roll onto the toboggan and then pulled him to safety.

On October 7, 2014, Montréal police constables Steve Demers and Samuel Poirier-Payette (pictured left) put their lives at risk as they attempted to rescue a mother and her son from a burning house in Beaconsfield, Quebec. The officers first tried to reach one of the victims in the basement but were quickly driven back by the heat and heavy smoke. Hearing screams from the second victim on the main floor, the two constables struggled through the smoke until they reached the woman, but she refused to leave without her son, who was still in the basement. Constable Demers fell twice while attempting to drag the woman outside, but finally succeeded with the help of his colleague. Sadly, the victim’s son did not survive. The decoration awarded to Constable Demers will be presented to him at a future ceremony.

On August 12, 2015, Private Matthew Lepain (pictured left) and Corporal Alexander Zawyrucha assisted a woman involved in a car accident in Windsor, Ontario. After witnessing the collision, the two men steadied the vehicle, which was leaking gasoline and had started rolling backwards. Private Lepain tried to pull the victim from her car, but she became entangled in her seatbelt. As Corporal Zawyrucha reached in to help, Private Lepain noticed a fire growing under the hood of the car, threatening to light the pool of gasoline spreading beneath their feet. Corporal Zawyrucha managed to pull the victim out and, with the help of Private Lepain, brought her to safety just as the vehicle became engulfed in flames.

On May 18, 2015, John Gorman and Jim Mascioli intervened in an attack on a young woman, in Timmins, Ontario. The men discovered a car that had crashed into a ditch; inside, they found a woman being stabbed by the driver. Mr. Gorman pulled the victim out of the car, but the assailant followed them out onto the road. After threatening them with his knife, the assailant lunged at the victim, tackled her to the ground and resumed his attack. Mr. Mascioli hauled the man off the woman and restrained him while Mr. Gorman and a bystander cared for the victim until emergency services arrived.

On April 5, 2016, Ranger Fontaine Fiddler rescued six people from their burning home in Sandy Lake, Ontario. Through an open window at the front of the house, Ranger Fiddler found the family trapped by the flames. He ran to the back and found a way into the house. He removed four children to safety before re-entering the residence to locate the other victims. All members of the family survived, thanks to Ranger Fiddler’s efforts.

On November 3, 2015, Brian Duncan and John McQuaid rescued three people from their burning car near Yoho, New Brunswick. The vehicle had flipped and landed on its passenger side. Mr. Duncan pulled the glass from the sun roof, unbuckled two children from their seats and removed them from the car one by one. Meanwhile, using a pair of shears, Mr. McQuaid managed to free the driver from her seatbelt. Despite the intensifying blaze, Mr. Duncan and Mr. McQuaid, assisted by a bystander, were able to pull the driver to safety. On November 3, 2015, Brian Duncan and John McQuaid rescued three people from their burning car near Yoho, New Brunswick. The vehicle had flipped and landed on its passenger side. Mr. Duncan pulled the glass from the sun roof, unbuckled two children from their seats and removed them from the car one by one. Meanwhile, using a pair of shears, Mr. McQuaid managed to free the driver from her seatbelt. Despite the intensifying blaze, Mr. Duncan and Mr. McQuaid, assisted by a bystander, were able to pull the driver to safety.

On July 20, 2015, Warrant Officer John Dunbar, Corporal Alexander Keightley, Master Corporal Dale Kurdziel (pictured left) and Master Corporal Shawn Thorn rescued a family from their burning home in Lancaster Park, Alberta. While WO Dunbar used a ladder to retrieve one of the children from the roof, MCpl Kurdziel rushed into the smoke-filled residence to locate a second child. Accompanied by Cpl Keightley and MCpl Thorn, he entered the house again to locate the mother and moved her to safety. This is the second Medal of Bravery for Master Corporal Dale Kurdziel.

On October 2, 2014, search and rescue technician Sergeant Stephen Bates risked his life while evacuating an ailing man from a fishing vessel, in severe weather conditions off the coast of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Sergeant Bates was preparing to extract the man by helicopter when the hoist cable became tangled in the boat’s hydraulics. Struggling against strong winds, he succeeded in freeing the cord. Sergeant Bates and his team were then able to remove the man from the ship and transport him to shore.

On October 10, 2015, Niagara Regional Police constables Daniel Bassi, Jacob Braun, Neal Ridley and Allan Rivet subdued an active shooter in Fenwick, Ontario. Constable Ridley negotiated with the distraught man who was threatening to blow up his apartment building. The man suddenly opened fire, hitting both constables Ridley and Braun. Despite their injuries, the officers, joined by constables Bassi and Rivet, were able to neutralize the threat, preventing the situation from escalating further.

On April 23, 2014, paramedics Ean Smith and Eryn Smith, as well as firefighters Matt Attwell, Brian Chapman, Anthony Colabufalo, Bruce Hicks, Larry Martin, Marcus Middleton, Travis Robbins, Daryl Roy and Derek Wilson, were instrumental in the rescue of three firefighters injured in a warehouse explosion in Mississauga, Ontario. A violent blast inside the warehouse caused a wall to collapse, burying the firefighters under the rubble. The remaining firefighters either had their breathing apparatus blown off by the explosion or had to remove them after quickly running out of oxygen. Despite flying debris, heavy smoke and secondary explosions, the firefighters and paramedics combined their efforts to recover their injured colleagues, and moved them away from the intense heat and flames to safety. The decorations awarded to Mr. Smith and Ms. Smith were presented to them at a previous ceremony.The decoration awarded to Mr. Chapman will be presented to him at a future ceremony.

On November 9, 2015, Sebastian Taborszky rescued a man who had fallen during an ice climbing excursion at Murchison Falls, in Jasper National Park, Alberta. Mr. Taborszky and the man were on an 80-metre descent when the victim started to free-fall. Mr. Taborszky tried in vain to grab on to the rope, which sliced through his glove. The victim, tangled in the rope, stopped falling 10 metres from the ground. Without any equipment or support, Mr. Taborszky climbed down the wall of ice to reach his injured companion. Over the next seven hours, in -15°C temperatures, Mr. Taborszky endured exhaustion, dehydration and his own injuries as he dragged the severely injured victim over the steep, rocky terrain back to their vehicle. He then hoisted the victim inside the car and drove for an hour before he could alert the authorities for help.

Created in 1972, Decorations for Bravery recognize people who risked their lives to try to save or protect the lives of others.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Her Excellency thanked the recipients for their acts of bravery.