The first in Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing
MANITOULIN—With the large crowd of parents, Legionnaires and others attending the 348 Manitoulin Sea Cadets Corps’ change of command ceremony, pretty much everyone knew what to expect. But there was one surprise.
There is a new national medal, King Charles III Coronation Medal, and the first one to be presented in the large federal riding of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing was bestowed the night of Monday, February 10 at the special Sea Cadet parade at MSS.
The recipient, surprised and speechless, was outgoing Corps Commanding officer, Lt. (N) Sylvain Boucher, and his nominator was Retired Lt. (N) Denis Blake (who had served as Corps commander in the past and was that evening’s master of ceremonies) and the presenter was Member of Parliament Carol Hughes.
In fact, the medal had serendipitously only come to Ms. Hughes earlier that day, two weeks earlier than she had expected.
The basic requirements for a Canadian citizen to be considered for this honour is that the nominee, “must have made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory region of, or community in Canada.” Nominees must have been alive on May 6, 2023, the day of King Charles coronation.
In nominating Lt. (N) Boucher for the honour, retired Lt. (N) Blake wrote “under his leadership, he has recruited a full slate of officers and Civilian Instructors, increased the number of cadets post-pandemic from approximately 12 to the current number of 32 Cadets. He has created and fostered partnerships with local Indigenous communities, which has resulted in several young persons from these communities joining the Cadet Corps. Lt(N) Boucher’s success has been recognized for his leadership by the Canadian Armed Forces and he has recently been appointed Indigenous Liaison for the Cadet program for Northern Ontario.”
M.P. Carol Hughes then pinned the medal on the surprised Sylvain Boucher’s tunic.
In his nomination, Retired Lt. (N) Blake was fulsome in his praise of the accomplishment of the outgoing Commanding Officer.
