Award-winning writer and Indigenous rights advocate among 87 Canadians recognized in year-end honours

Michelle Frances Good, a member of Red Pheasant Cree Nation who lives in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, has been appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in the year-end honours list announced Tuesday.

Good, an activist, lawyer, and storyteller, was recognized for her work confronting laws that harm Indigenous communities and advocating reconciliation, truth, and respect. A survivor of the Sixties Scoop and the intergenerational trauma of the residential school system, she has built a career using both legal advocacy and literature to advance Indigenous rights.

Her debut novel Five Little Indians won multiple awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The book follows five survivors of the residential school system as they navigate trauma and healing.

Good appeared at the 2023 Saskatchewan Festival of Words in Moose Jaw, where her writing workshop sold out. She noted at that appearance that she has also been a long-time supporter of the festival.

Understanding the Order of Canada

The Order of Canada recognizes Canadians for outstanding achievement, dedication to community, and service to the nation. Established in 1967, the honour has three levels:

Companion (C.C.): The highest level, recognizing national pre-eminence or international service. This year’s Companions include former Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella and renowned children’s entertainer Raffi Cavoukian.

Officer (O.C.): Recognizing national service or achievement. Recipients include oncolytic virotherapy researcher John Cameron Bell and public servant Janice Charette.

Member (C.M.): Recognizing distinguished service in or to a particular community, group or field of activity. Good joins 70 other Canadians appointed as Members this year.

Other notable recipients

Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse, who won seven medals across three Olympic Games including gold in Tokyo, was named a Member. Music journalist Nardwuar the Human Serviette, known for his distinctive interview style and tireless research, also received the honour.

Saskatchewan business leader Wayne Richard Brownlee of Saskatoon was named an Officer for his work as CFO of PotashCorp, guiding its evolution into Nutrien, and for his contributions to education, heritage, and health care through charitable work.

The appointments bring the total number of living Order of Canada recipients to approximately 7,000 since the honour’s establishment.