Locals in Kanesatake awarded Coronation Medal
When all is said and done, 30,000 King Charles III Coronation Medals will have been awarded to people in Canada who have made substantial contributions to their communities and beyond.
At least two medals will have gone to Kanehsata’kehró:non after Sonia Bonspille Boileau and Robert Bonspille received the honour this month.
Bonspiel, president of First Nations Paramedics, is the most recent recipient after accepting the medal on Wednesday evening at a ceremony in St. Jerome.
“I’ve always been of the mindset that you shouldn’t expect a reward or a tap on the shoulder for doing something that should have been done anyway because it’s the right thing to do,” said Bonspiel, who said he was conflicted about accepting the medal, not least because of its association with the monarchy.
However, he decided it was important to honour those who took the time to nominate him and believes the award can be leveraged to advance his work advocating for Indigenous prehospital services and access, and even Indigenous languages.
“I’m not accepting it on behalf of Robert Bonspiel, I’m accepting it on behalf of First Nations Paramedics so we can use it as a launching board going forward,” he said.
“The stuff that First Nations Paramedics does with regards to our political lobbying, with regards to our implications in social matters specific to not only Indigenous but to the paramedic community across Canada, it’s our raison d’être, to use a French term – our reason for being.”
The company recently registered as a lobbyist with the provincial and federal governments, he said, to assist it in advocating for Indigenous prehospital care. A project is in development alongside another organization, he said, to develop an approach to Indigenous prehospital care that is tailored to individual communities, rather than the “just-add-water" approach often employed by governments.
“I don’t think that anybody’s well served by that approach anymore,” he said.
Paramedic Alexandre Lebeau isn’t surprised to see his boss awarded the service honour.
“First Nations Paramedics is Robert Bonspiel. Yes, we are there as paramedics, but it’s him who drives the boat. It’s him who manages, he has the vision, he’s going to bring it further,” said Lebeau.
“He’s always ready to help his community."
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Meanwhile, Boileau received the medal at a ceremony just a couple weeks earlier at the University of Quebec Outaouais on January 18.
“A director and screenwriter of Mohawk origin, you bring powerful stories to the screen, highlighting the resilience and history of Indigenous peoples,” said a citation that was read out to Boileau as she received the honour. “Your works, such as Pour toi Flora and Rustic Oracle, profoundly enrich the Canadian and global cinematic landscape.”
Several Kahnawa’kehró:non also received the honour over the past couple months for their achievements and community service.
