2018 Order of New Brunswick recipients

A dedicated educator, coach and paramedic, Judy Astle has made an incredible impact on the community of Boiestown and beyond.

Ms. Astle began her teaching career in 1970, joining the staff at Upper Miramichi Regional High School as a physical education teacher. Over the course of the next 36 years, she coached every sport the school had to offer, from softball and basketball to volleyball and badminton. Upon retiring from teaching in 2006, she continued to coach basketball for four more years until 2010. During her years as a teacher, she also served as an NBTA Board Member and always emphasized to her students to remember where they came from and to be proud of their hometown.
Ms. Astle was the Director of Player Development with the Canadian Ladies Golf Association from 2000 to 2004 and is the current Vice President of Golf New Brunswick.

A volunteer with the St. John Ambulance since 1985, Ms. Astle became a paramedic in 1993, holding full-time positions with both the school system and Ambulance New Brunswick until 2006. From 2014-2016, Ms. Astle served as the president of CUPE 4848, the union representing paramedics and dispatchers in the province. In this position, she played a key role in advocating for the use of advanced care paramedics in New Brunswick. She continues to work for Ambulance NB today.

Her work in emergency services has merited various honours, including an Order of St. John Ambulance Medal in 1992 and a New Brunswick Emergency Services Exemplary Service Medal.

Ms. Astle is a passionate supporter of women in sports. From 1999 to 2003, she served as the first female president of New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association. She has also volunteered with both the Canada Games and the Olympic Games. Currently, she serves as an executive with Golf NB and is certified as a golf rules official both provincially and nationally. She is a proud mother of four children and a grandmother of nine grandchildren.

Judy Astle is receiving the Order of New Brunswick for her outstanding commitment to sportsmanship and leadership in her community and throughout New Brunswick.

Charles Bernard, a Balmoral native, is known as a champion of social engagement. His leadership and dedication have inspired many in his community and beyond to follow in his footsteps.

Mr. Bernard began his career in Quebec as a child protection social worker in the late seventies. He returned to New Brunswick six years later to take on the implementation of services for children with developmental or physical disabilities after the closure of the Dr. William F. Roberts Hospital School in Saint John.

Mr. Bernard then became the Regional Director of Social Services for Restigouche. He also helped found the New Brunswick Non-Profit Housing Association Inc.

Mr. Bernard is currently Mayor of Balmoral. He was elected for a first term from 1986 to 1999, then re-elected in 2012. An active and committed member of his community, Mr. Bernard was President of the regional fundraising campaign for the 27th Finale des Jeux de l'Acadie in Campbellton. He was also instrumental in the organization of the first Tree of Hope campaign outside Moncton. He has organized fundraising activities for young people with serious medical needs. He has served on the Board of Directors of Foyer Le Rameur du Nord in Bathurst and Dalhousie. In 2012, Mr. Bernard became President of the Dalhousie Nursing Home Foundation, as well as the President of the organizing committee of the 2nd Finale of Les Jeux des ainés de l’Acadie.

In 1998, Mr. Bernard was awarded the Louis-J.-Robichaud Award, the highest honour bestowed by the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick, as well as the award for the Restigouche Community Individual of the Year 2008. Volunteering and helping his fellow New Brunswickers are an integral part of his character.

Charles Bernard is receiving the Order of New Brunswick for his contribution to protecting the vulnerable, his exemplary involvement, his vitality, and his passion for community engagement.

Roberta Dugas’ long and brilliant nursing career illustrates her passion for the health and well-being of New Brunswickers.

Ms. Dugas started nursing in 1960. She worked in Montreal and Caraquet hospitals for thirty years, as well as in Acadian Peninsula community health centres.

Ms. Dugas, in addition to being an active member of her professional association and union, is dedicated to the fight against cancer. For almost 10 years, she has served on both the federal and provincial Board of Directors of the Canadian Cancer Society. She also served six years as a public representative and four years as chair on the Board of Directors of WorksafeNB. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Service New Brunswick.

Ms. Dugas has been an active participant in municipal affairs. She served as Caraquet municipal councillor from 1986 to 1992 and then mayor from 1992 to 2001. Under her administration, Caraquet experienced considerable economic growth, including development of its downtown core, industrial park and port. Ms. Dugas also chaired the Forum des maires de la Péninsule acadienne and the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick.

During her term as mayor, Ms. Dugas, a history and heritage buff, was instrumental in the designation of Caraquet as the “Capital of Acadia” and later in the restoration of the city’s two historic cemeteries. As a member of the Sanctuaire de Sainte-Anne-du-Bocage Committee, she worked on the historical aspect of the site’s development and restoration. She agreed to chair the organizing committee for the 2016 Jeux de l’Acadie in Caraquet, and made it possible for the town to acquire high-quality sporting facilities. For all these reasons, the Caraquet Club Richelieu named her Person of the Year in 2017.

Roberta Dugas is receiving the Order of New Brunswick in recognition of her outstanding community involvement and her leadership in the nursing profession.

Louise Imbeault can be described as a woman of action who has been able to juggle her professional, community, and family lives.

At Radio-Canada for more than 30 years, she achieved a number of firsts, including first woman news editor. In 1996, she became the director of Radio-Canada Atlantique. In 2007, under her leadership, the agency took the name Radio-Canada Acadie. That year, she was able to add weekend news bulletins to the television schedule.

Preserving regional programming and, despite budget cuts, increasing the number of original programs remained her goals on all platforms. Managing Radio-Canada Acadie meant managing a budget of more than $14 million and some 220 employees.

Under her direction, partnerships were established with the community, and through her inspiration, Radio-Canada Acadie now presents the Éloïzes gala and National Acadian Day, and has broadcast the Jeux de l’Acadie since they first began. On the international scene, Ms. Imbeault worked on various projects with national television stations in Africa.

Involved in her community, she chaired the SHM Foundation for the visual arts. She was the acting chair of the board of directors of the New Brunswick Museum from 2015 to 2017. A “full-time” feminist, she co-chaired the fundraising campaign for the Coalition for Pay Equity and was a member of the Regroupement féministe du Nouveau-Brunswick.

After retiring from Radio-Canada Acadie, she purchased Bouton d’or Acadie, a publishing house that is dedicated to the creation of literary works for Acadian youth, and which helps to showcase Acadie on the local, regional, national, and international scenes.

In June 2010, the Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick awarded her the Prix Albert Sormany, which celebrates the recipient’s invaluable contribution to Acadie. In 2016, she received the Order of Moncton for her contribution to the cultural development of her birth city.

In September 2017, she was elected president of the Société Nationale de l’Acadie, and in June 2018, she became the chancellor of the Université de Moncton.

Louise Imbeault has raised four children and has instilled in them a sense of community development. She is now an overjoyed grandmother.

Louise Imbeault is receiving the Order of New Brunswick for her vital role in the social and cultural life of New Brunswick, through her contributions to media and communications sector, and within the Acadian community.

A nationally recognized small business expert, Gaetan Lanteigne is also a social entrepreneur, teacher, and agent of change.

Mr. Lanteigne has a solid university background including four university certificates, a Bachelor of Commerce and an MBA, as well as a certificate and a diploma of college studies, and has played a key role in the economic development of the Acadian Peninsula.

Since 2006, he has been sharing his management expertise through his firm, Cabinet Gaetan Lanteigne. Since 2014, he has also operated the AgriBel Farm. In addition to owning his own businesses, Mr. Lanteigne is the teacher responsible for the small and medium-sized business management program offered by the Acadian Peninsula campus of the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick.

In partnership with hundreds of collaborators, he has successfully piloted a number of nationally recognized initiatives. Mr. Lanteigne, a dedicated volunteer, helped develop PhénoMènE Inc., a group of budding managers and entrepreneurs. Through this organization, he has mentored over 200 members, enabling them to set up a number of new businesses and create numerous jobs in his community. He is one of the driving forces behind the first Regional Municipality of NB and has developed a pedagogical model for active learning, to name but a few of his numerous achievements.

Mr. Lanteigne has received many honours in recognition of the significant contributions he has made to his community. Among these honours we can cite his nomination as one of Atlantic Canada’s 50 most influential young leaders under 40, the Canadian Senate 150 Anniversary Commemorative Medal, the Colleges and Institutes Canada National Entrepreneurship Award and the Tracadie-Sheila Inc. Chamber of Commerce Award. Mr. Lanteigne was inducted in the Tracadie Regional Municipality Hall of Fame and has received the Emergence Award of the Université de Moncton Alumni Association along with many awards for his exemplary commitment. Above all, Mr. Lanteigne is a husband and a fully committed dad to Élodie and Lorie, his two daughters.

Gaetan Lanteigne is receiving the Order of New Brunswick for his outstanding contribution to the economic development of his community and the province of New Brunswick.

Walter John Learning has spent a career and a lifetime dedicated to artists and to theatre both in New Brunswick and across Canada.

Mr. Learning founded Theatre New Brunswick – the province’s leading professional anglophone theatre company – 50 years ago in 1968. His vision was to create a theatre company that toured to all corners of our province. Prior to the establishment of Theatre New Brunswick, professional theatre companies, such as the Canadian Players, only came to New Brunswick every few years. This meant the only opportunities to experience live theatre in the province were through amateur productions put on by schools, universities, and community groups.

Under Mr. Learning’s leadership, the Theatre New Brunswick Young Company was established. The Young Company continues to bring live theatre to schools throughout the province, and to give young actors the opportunity to discover and develop their own talents.

Mr. Learning served as artistic director of Theatre New Brunswick from 1968 to 1978 and again from 1995 to 1999. In the years between, he served as head of the theatre section of the Canada Council in Ottawa, and as artistic director of both BC’s Vancouver Playhouse and PEI’s Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Mr. Learning is an artist in his own right – a director, an actor, and a playwright who has worked throughout North America and in Australia for more than half a century. Among many celebrated productions are his collaborations with the late Governor-General’s Award winning poet Alden Nowlan, with whom he wrote plays including The Dollar Woman, Frankenstein: The Man Who Became God, and The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca. The plays have been produced many times by companies across the continent, and The Dollar Woman is currently part of the grade 11 English curriculum for anglophone school districts in New Brunswick. They also wrote scripts for television and adapted their plays for CBC radio. Mr. Learning still regularly directs at Canberra Repertory Society in Australia, and continues to act and direct at theatres across Canada.

Mr. Learning is receiving the Order of New Brunswick for his achievements in the performing arts and for his contributions to the theatre community and industry in New Brunswick.

James (Jim) Lockyer is an esteemed public servant and community leader whose contributions to the legal profession have had a transformative effect on the practice of law in New Brunswick.

After earning a BA from Mount Allison University, an LLB from the University of New Brunswick, he received his LLM from the London School of Economics and a DEA from Université de Paris (Pantheon-Sorbonne).

In 1977, Mr. Lockyer played an integral role in the formation of the Faculté de droit at the Université de Moncton, where he served as the faculty’s first full-time professor, and as Dean from 1984 to 1987. He was also appointed Queen’s Counsel.

Along with teaching and mentoring hundreds of law students, Mr. Lockyer spearheaded the transplanting of the much-esteemed Osgoode Hall Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop to New Brunswick. This made specialized knowledge and training available to New Brunswick lawyers, enabling them to provide skilled advocacy on behalf of the province’s citizens, businesses and organizations.

In 2008, he was a recipient of the American College of Trial Lawyer’s Award of Merit for his teaching of trial advocacy. He received a Dialogue NB award in 2009. He is also a former president of the Law Society of New Brunswick.

Mr. Lockyer served in elected office, first on Moncton City Council and then, from 1987 to 1999, as a member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly. While an MLA, he held high-profile cabinet positions and earned a reputation for economic development.

Mr. Lockyer was vice president of Dr. Georges Dumont Hospital Tree of Hope Campaign and chair of the Greater Moncton YMCA. He co-chaired the YWCA Transitionelle Campaign, raising $2.5 million toward the establishment of the Jean Irving Centre for Women and Children, a bilingual facility designed to address the barriers to women’s success. He is a former chair of Greater Moncton’s 3 Plus Economic Development Corporation. He is the Honorary Colonel of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s).

Mr. Lockyer is receiving the Order of New Brunswick for his extraordinary volunteerism and outstanding contributions to the legal profession.

Building a kinder world was at the heart of Rebecca “Becca” Schofield’s mission and her efforts continue to inspire and make a significant social contribution today, in New Brunswick and beyond.

Ms. Schofield was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 15. After enduring surgery and recovery, followed by months of aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatments, two new inoperable tumors were found in December 2016 and she was given three to 12 months to live. She was 17 years old.

Rather than use the time she had remaining to fulfil personal lifelong wishes, Ms. Schofield shared with her family and friends her wish that people would perform acts of kindness toward one another. Out of this request, the hashtag #BeccaToldMeTo was born.

Since its inception, the #BeccaToldMeTo hashtag has been used all around the world, with thousands sharing stories about acts of kindness they’ve done and/or received in Ms. Schofield’s name. From strangers paying for one another’s coffee, to giving the gift of life by donating blood for the first time, to helping raise money for childhood cancer research, Ms. Schofield’s request sparked a global movement.

By using her platform in this inspiring way, Ms. Schofield challenged her community, her province and her country to be a little kinder to one another and to remember how quickly kindness can spread. For this, she was recognized by the Governor General with a Meritorious Service Decoration. In New Brunswick, the third Saturday of September has been declared as “Becca Schofield Day” in her honour.

Ms. Schofield passed away on February 17, 2018 at the age of 18.

Rebecca “Becca” Schofield is receiving the Order of New Brunswick for inspiring New Brunswickers to be kind to each other and uniting the province through selfless acts of compassion and generosity.

The volunteer efforts of Ed and Eke van Oorschot over the last 50 years have had a life-changing impact on the lives of families living in the greater Saint John region.

Mr. and Mrs. van Oorschot have played crucial leadership roles in the development of two well-known community programs: Lakewood Headstart and New Dawn Community/L’Arche Saint John.

Recognizing a community need for a gathering spot for children and mothers, Mr. and Mrs. van Oorschot started Lakewood Headstart. Launched at a time when kindergarten was private and many families could not afford pre-school education, the Lakewood Headstart program was unique in that it helped prepare children for school, while also providing support to mothers.

Mr. and Mrs. van Oorschot have also been actively involved with New Dawn Community/L’Arche Saint John, a program that focuses on connecting individuals with intellectual disabilities in the greater Saint John area. Through their involvement with L’Arche, the van Oorschot’s have served in many different leadership roles and remain actively involved in the program today.

Mr. and Ms. van Oorschot have also been involved in Romero House, a non-profit organization that serves thousands of meals every day, and CHARIS, a non-profit organization run by volunteers to renovate homes. They also continue to visit nursing homes in the community to spend time with seniors in care.

Born in the Netherlands, Mr. and Mrs. Van Oorschot immigrated to Canada in 1951 and 1950 respectively. They met in Ontario some time later before moving to New Brunswick and currently reside in Black River, New Brunswick.

Mr. and Ms. van Oorschot are receiving the Order of New Brunswick for their exemplary and longstanding passion for social justice and for their commitment to protecting vulnerable people in their community and throughout New Brunswick.

Eileen Wallace is a noted educator and philanthropist whose passion for literacy has changed the early childhood education landscape in New Brunswick.

Born at Maplewood in York County, Ms. Wallace graduated from Fredericton High School, and then attended the University of New Brunswick where she graduated in 1944 with first class honours in French and mathematics. She went on to attend the University of Toronto to obtain her bachelors degree in library and information science, the University of Michigan Ann Arbor to obtain her masters degree in library and information science, and she also attended la Sorbonne.

Ms. Wallace worked as a librarian in Ontario before joining the staff of the New Brunswick Teachers’ College in 1955 as a librarian and instructor of library science. When the Teachers’ College amalgamated with the University of New Brunswick in 1973, Ms. Wallace became the university’s first professor of children’s literacy and library science and the first head of the university’s education resource centre.

Recognizing there were very few children’s books at the time, Ms. Wallace developed her own private collection to lend to students and teachers. The Eileen Wallace Children’s Literature Collection was gifted to the Harriet Irving Library at the University of New Brunswick upon Ms. Wallace’s retirement in 1989. This collection represents one of Canada’s largest publicly accessible resources for studying how children interact with books and stories. With her support and direction, this collection has grown to more than 17,000 books and microfiche – the largest collection east of Toronto’s Osborne collection and the only collection that tracks the history and legacy of print culture for children and young adults in Atlantic Canada. She remains an active member of the collection’s advisory committee.

In 1998, the Lieutenant-Governor presented Ms. Wallace with the Early Childhood Literacy Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the education of children. In 2001, she received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of New Brunswick for her lifelong commitment to literacy, childhood education and humane values.

Ms. Wallace is receiving the Order of New Brunswick for her trailblazing achievements in bilingual education and for her outstanding impact on children’s literacy.