RECOGNITION
The Monument Amicitia France-Canada Association would like to recognize the many members of the AMICITIA collective who have been recognized for their efforts associated with Franco-Canadian relations with its Recognition Program.
Jacques Janson receives a Meritorious Service Medal
from the Governor General of Canada
In the photograph taken in Rideau Hall's Ballroom, Jacques Janson is seated second from the right in the front row
(Credit: Sgt Mathieu St-Amour, Rideau Hall, Reference Number: GG09-2021-0116-071).
On 13 December 2021, during a ceremony at Rideau Hall (Ottawa), Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, presented honours to 22 exceptional individuals. Jacques Janson was among the recipients who received a Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division). The ceremony was attended by a small gathering of family and friends who joined in celebrating the recipients and their accomplishments.
"Known for his outstanding commitment to the duty of remembrance and his professionalism in the area of military commemorations, Jacques Janson has also distinguished himself by his tireless efforts to honour Francophone veterans from western Canada. His generosity to our country is inspiring, both in his efforts to restore Franco-Manitoban military memorials and in the conferences he hosts highlighting the tremendous sacrifice of Canada’s fallen soldiers."
— Rideau Hall
Colonels Jérôme Lacroix-Leclair and Samuel Machac promoted within the National Order of Merit
Rarely have only two colonels working in the same French embassy been promoted simultaneously on the same decree. Such is the case with Colonel Jérôme Lacroix-Leclair, French Defence Attaché, and Colonel Samuel Machac, Homeland Security Attaché, both deployed at the Embassy of France in Canada since 2019. They were thus elevated to the rank of officer in the National Order of Merit on the French presidential decree of 15 June 2021. They also received their decoration a month later by Ambassador Kareen Rispal during the French National Day on 14 July 2021 at the French residence in Ottawa.
Photographed on the balcony of the French Embassy in Ottawa (left to right) are Colonel Jérôme Lacroix-Leclair and Colonel Samuel Machac.
Gérard Poupée made a Knight of the National Order of Merit
Photo : (From left to right) Gilbert Dekoker, vice-president of the Association of the National Order of Merit for Canada, Yves Chauchat, deputy consul, Francine Watkins, consular counsellor, Gérard Poupée, Hélène Conway-Mouret, senator of the French abroad, Norman Gaudet, head of the school.
Photo : Clément Lechat
Hélène Conway-Mouret, Senator for French Nationals Abroad, presents Gérard Poupée with the insignia of Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite, in the presence of his family, friends, and colleagues and alumni of the Toronto French School in Toronto on November 8, 2021.
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Receiving the Ordre national du Mérite is a true consecration for this figure of the French community in Toronto, almost 20 years after becoming Commandeur des Palmes académiques in 2002. He had just retired after a long career in teaching.
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"Through you, Gérard, I believe that this high distinction perfectly fulfills its purpose. It rewards a person who, through his outstanding civic spirit, serves as an example to the younger generations."
— Hélène Conway-Mouret (Translated from French)