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Awards and Honours

This page was last reviewed on January 15, 2021.

Freedom of the Municipality

Freedom of the municipality is considered the highest honour that can be bestowed by the Village of Cumberland and is the result of a unanimous decision of the members of the Council.

Freedom of the municipality may be conferred on a distinguished person or unit of the armed forces of Canada or another nation. This authority is given to municipalities by the province under section 158 of the Community Charter.

A person, or the commander of the armed forces unit, given freedom of the municipality is deemed to be an elector of the municipality and is eligible to be registered as such and to vote in an election for mayor or councillor. If the person is a Canadian citizen, the person is deemed to be qualified to be nominated, be elected and hold office on the council.

William Henderson, January 20, 1969

George Apps, June 11, 1973

Peter Cameron, December 6, 1982

William Moncrief Jr., August 16, 1993

Andrew (Red) Harvie, May 22, 2001

HMCS Quadra Sea Cadets, November 23, 2009

Royal Canadian Army Cadets, November 23, 2009

19 Wing Comox, Royal Canadian Air Force, including air cadets, November 23, 2009

Long Serving Firefighters

Jack Robertson, 44 years of service from 1949 to 1993

Bob Banks, 45 years of service from 1963/68 to 2015

Ken Allen, 35 years of service from 1965 to 2000

Mike Williamson, 44 years and counting, from 1971 to present day

John Baird, 27 years of service from 1979-2006

Bruce Sampson, 26 years of service from 1989 to 2015

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

John Ying Leung was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal on October 14, 2012 in recognition of his contributions to Canada and his dedicated service to his peers and his community. The award was created to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the Throne.

Mr. Leung was a key member of the Chinatown/No. 1 Japanese Town Committee which participated in the establishment of Cumberland’s Coal Creek Historic Park. Mr. Leung spearheaded the design, planning and funding for the construction of the Chinatown pavilion in the park which was officially opened in April 2011.

Mr. Leung also made significant contributions to the restoration of the Chinese and Japanese Cemeteries and was caretaker of the Chinese cemetery for more than 30 years.

A founding member of the Cumberland Seniors’ Citizens Housing Society, Mr. Leung was instrumental in the development of a 32 unit low-income seniors’ housing facility in Cumberland.

Mr. Leung is also a 40 plus year member of the Cumberland Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Heritage Fair Committee, the Cumberland Lantern Festival Committee, and the Cumberland Museum.

Local Government Long Service Award

Leslie Baird was recognized by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities in 2015 for 25 of service in local government. Leslie was first elected as a Cumberland alderman in 1990.

Bronco (William) Moncrief was recognized in 2011 for over 35 years of service in local government. Bronco was first elected alderman in 1967, then held the office of mayor from 1969 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2002. Bronco held the office of councillor from 2005 until his retirement in 2011.

P.S. Cameron was recognized in 1980 for his service in local government.

W. Henderson was recognized in 1969 for his service in local government.

Order of the Rising Sun

Bronco Moncrief received this award from the Consulate-General of Japan in BC in 2011. It is Japan’s second-highest honour, given in recognition of Bronco’s efforts to elevate the status of Japanese Canadians and promote friendly relations between the two countries.

Everyday Political Citizen

In 2015, resident Nick Ward was nominated for the Samara Canada Everyday Political Citizen Award which celebrates positive political role models and the many thousands of ordinary people engaging in big and small ways in Canada’s rich political culture.

Nick was nominated for his work on Cumberland Matters, a website and Facebook presence that shares information on what is happening at the local council table and the impacts that council decisions have on the future of the community.

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