Introduction

Over the past decade we have noticed a rampant increase in the number of people who are wearing their orders, decorations and medals incorrectly. The cadre of people who flagrantly violate the official rules on how you are supposed to wear your medals ranges from the average veteran right up to current and former Governors General. Indeed, there is much evidence to suggest that the higher the rank of the individual the more likely they are to just wear whatever they want, however they want. We like to think of this as “Instant Dictator Syndrome” or self-aggrandizement at its most obvious.

Why do people wear their medals incorrectly? Often it is because they simply do not know any better. If you are one of these people you should consult WEARING ORDERS, DECORATIONS AND MEDALS which is available from the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall. This guide will help you figure out how you are supposed to wear your officially granted orders, decorations and medals.

When it comes to wearing your medals incorrectly the worst offenders tend to be former Governors General, Lieutenant Governors and retired Generals. When these people – all in authority and all surrounded by staff who know better – wear their medals wrong they are obviously suffering from the dreaded Instant Dictator Syndrome. The attitude accompanied with this most severe condition is “the more medals I wear the more important I will look.”

This simple blog is aimed at revealing the myriad of fellow Canadians who cannot seem to wear their medals correctly.

Monday, July 26, 2021

The Rt. Hon. Mary Simon: An INAUSPICIOUS start

Seven months after bidding farewell to the worst Governor General, and one of the biggest medal offenders in Canadian History (wearing unrecognized NASA Medals, and the Order of Canada and other honours as jewellery) we have a new Governor General installed. The seven months with the Chief Justice, Richard Wagner, as Chief Administrator of the Government, was marked by not one single medals offence. Wonderful work!
Richard Wagner: A model "almost GG"



Now we have the installation of Ms. Mary Simon (formerly OC, OQ and some Jubilee Medals), who is now a Companion of the Order of Canada (CC), Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM) and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (COM), and Her Excellency, has decided to just freelance on the wearing of medals. Oh it is so sad to see the new Governor General disobeying the rules, rules which she is supposed to uphold. Following the ignominious example of Julie Payette at her installation in 2017, she has opted to just wear her Order of Canada and not her commemorative medals. We are off to an inauspicious start. Starting her tenure breaking the medal wearing rules means either she has followed the Payette route and hired a bunch of friends to advise her, there is no one left at Rideau Hall to advise a Governor General, or after three years of constant mental beatings by Julie Payette, the advisors have all lost their ability to advise OR most worryingly, that the new Governor General just doesn't care.

So what was she doing wrong? Well we are delighted that she is wearing her CC on a bow, but where are her commemorative medals -- those humble little gongs that several hundred thousand Canadians have earned since Canada 125 in 1992? Given how long Her Excellency has been in the Order of Canada she should at least have the Golden Jubilee Medal 2002, and Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012? For more than 300k a year you think you would be able to at least pay attention to these sorts of details. 

Payette and her benefactor Justin Trudeau, 2017
Not wearing her commemorative medals,
just like Ms. Simon on installation day 2021
First day on the job, Mary Simon already breaking the rules. 



















Is it such a big thing to ask that a Governor General wear their orders, decorations and medals correctly? There are lots of good current examples of people weaning them correctly. Take for instances, the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, The Hon. Russell Mirasty, SOM, MSM. He gets how to wear his medals correctly, why can't the Governor General?
A model medal wearer:
Lieutenant Governor of Saskatcewan Russell Mirasty


We can only hope that such media luminaries as Colby Cosh, who referenced our blog in an article in the  January 22, 2021 National Post, is paying attention to the "protocol nerds" (his phrase), who are flagging yet another potential rule ignoring Head of State. 

Now that we have a Governor General, even if she did wear her medals wrong on her big day, we can hope she will correct the offence. We can also hope she will get to work and promptly strip Julie Payette of the undeserved honours of the Order of Canada, Order of Military Merit and Order of Merit of the Police Forces. The sooner we can forget all that happened between October 2017 and January 2021 the better. 
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