‘Stunned’ chief justice, longtime philanthropists among new Order of Canada members

A former chief justice of the province’s highest court and a philanthropist couple with ties to the city are among 80 new appointments to the Order of Canada.

The appointments, by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, were announced Wednesday.

Richard Chartier, the former chief justice of the Manitoba Court of Appeal, was recognized as a member of the Order of Canada for improving access to justice and language rights in the province.

Chartier said he was “stunned” when he received the call from the Governor General’s office in November. He assumed he was going to be a reference for someone else until he was told the news.

“It was quite the surprise,” he said. “I don’t know who recommended me, but I am touched and deeply grateful.

“It is quite an honour to be honoured by your country.”

Chartier was called to the Manitoba bar in 1983, after graduating from the Faculté de droit at the University of Moncton, the only law school in Canada that teaches common law entirely in French.

A champion of the francophone community, Chartier’s 1998 report on French-language services, entitled Above All, Common Sense, was tabled in the legislature and has had a lasting impact. It included 29 recommendations to improve government services for French-speaking Manitobans. All of the recommendations were implemented by the province.

Chartier was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2006 and was named the province’s chief justice in 2013 by then-prime minister Stephen Harper. He was a provincial court judge from 1993 to 2006.

He was also the former board chair of the St. Boniface Health Access Centre and the Tache Centre.

Chartier retired from the bench in the fall of 2022.

He is joined by former Winnipeggers Walter and Maria Schroeder, who were also named members of the order.

The Schroeder Foundation, based in Toronto, has donated millions to the Winnipeg School Division, providing food subsidies, bursaries and technology to students in need. The foundation also awards more than 700 scholarships to students annually.

The couple, who grew up in Winnipeg, have also donated to health-care facilities and invested in multiple arts organizations across the country.

The Schroeders, who are both in their 80s, couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

“Being appointed to the Order of Canada is a powerful affirmation of the lives Maria and Walter have changed and the values they’ve lived every day,” Alex Vaccari, the foundation’s executive director, said.

“Walter and Maria both grew up in some of the poorest postal codes in Winnipeg, shaped by circumstances that could easily have limited their opportunities. They are quick to say that their success was never achieved alone but, rather, made possible through the encouragement and generosity of others who intervened at critical moments in their lives.”

In recent years, the Schroeder Foundation has taken a special interest in the WSD, whose schools Walter attended as a child. The foundation pledged $250,000 annually to the Engage Education program over five years to help resolve chronic absenteeism.

“What they’ve built — and, just as importantly, how they’ve built it — has always been about lifting others, removing barriers,” Vaccari said. “This recognition feels like Canada is formally acknowledging what so many of us have known for a long time.”

The former owners of Dominion Bond Rating Service, the Schroeders turned their attention to philanthropy full time after selling the company in 2014.

Walter Schroeder was invested into the Order of Manitoba in July.

One of the country’s highest honours, the Order of Canada recognizes citizens who have made extraordinary contributions to the nation. It was created in 1967.

— with files from Carol Sanders

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca