ARCHIVED — ORDERS IN COUNCIL

Vol. 142, No. 38 — September 20, 2008

GOVERNMENT HOUSE

Letters patent creating the Sacrifice Medal

P.C. 2008-415  February 28, 2008

Whereas it is desirable and Our Privy Council for Canada has advised that letters patent do issue instituting and creating in Canada the Sacrifice Medal for the purpose of according recognition to any person enrolled in, attached to or working with the Canadian Forces who died or was wounded as a direct result of hostile action;

Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, hereby advises Her Majesty the Queen that letters patent, to which Her Majesty may be graciously pleased to affix Her signature, do issue under the Great Seal of Canada instituting and creating in Canada an award to be designated and styled as the Sacrifice Medal whose description and eligibility criteria shall be specified in the Sacrifice Medal Regulations annexed to the letters patent.

ELIZABETH R.

[Great Seal of Canada]

CANADA

ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories QUEEN, Head of the Commonwealth of the Faith.

To ALL TO WHOM these Presents shall come or whom the same may in any concerns,

GREETING:

Whereas it is desirable and Our Privy Council for Canada has advised that letters patent do issue instituting and creating in Canada the Sacrifice Medal for the purpose of according recognition to any person enrolled in, attached to or working with the Canadian Forces who died or was wounded as a direct result of hostile action,

Now know you that We, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada, do by these presents institute and create an award to be designated and styled the Sacrifice Medal.

And We do ordain, direct and appoint that the Sacrifice Medal shall be governed by the annexed Sacrifice Medal Regulations, as those Regulations may be amended from time to time, repealed or revised by letters patent issued by Us, Our heirs and successors or Our Governor General of Canada on Our behalf.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent and We have caused Our Great Seal of Canada to be affixed to these Presents, which We have signed with Our Royal Hand.

GIVEN the seventeenth day of April in the year of Our Lord two thousand and eight and in the fifty-seventh year of Our Reign.

BY HER MAJESTY’S COMMAND,

STEPHEN HARPER

PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA

SACRIFICE MEDAL REGULATIONS

INTERPRETATION

1. The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

“Bar” means the bar described in subsection 3(5). (Barrette)

“Medal” means the Sacrifice Medal described in section 3. (Médaille)

DESIGNATION

2. There shall be instituted a medal to be designated as the “Sacrifice Medal”.

DESCRIPTION

3. (1) The Medal shall consist of a silver circular medal that is 36 mm across, has a claw at the top of it in the form of the Royal Crown, and is attached to a straight slotted bar.

(2) On the obverse of the Medal shall appear a contemporary effigy of Her Majesty the Queen of Canada, facing right, wearing a Canadian diadem composed alternately of maple leaves and snow flakes, and circumscribed with the inscriptions “ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA” and “CANADA”, separated by small maple leaves.

(3) On the reverse of the Medal shall appear a representation of the statue named “Canada” – that forms part of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial – facing right, overlooking the horizon. The inscription “SACRIFICE” shall appear in the lower right half of the Medal.

(4) The Medal shall be suspended from a watered ribbon that is 32 mm in width consisting of a 10-mm black stripe in the middle that is flanked by 11-mm red stripes on which are centred 1-mm white stripes.

(5) The Bar to the Medal shall be in silver with raised edges and shall bear a centred, single silver maple leaf overall.

(6) The Medal shall be engraved on the rim with the service number, rank, forename initials and surname of any military recipient or with the forenames and surname of any civilian recipient.

ELIGIBILITY

4. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Medal or a Bar may be awarded only to a person who

(a) is a member of the Canadian Forces, a member of an allied force working as an integral part of the Canadian Forces such as exchange personnel, a civilian employee of the Government of Canada or a Canadian citizen under contract with the Government of Canada, on the condition that they were deployed as part of a military mission under the authority of the Canadian Forces; and

(b) has, on or after October 7, 2001, died or been wounded under honourable circumstances as a direct result of a hostile or perceived hostile action on the condition that the wounds that were sustained required treatment by a physician and the treatment has been documented.

(2) Eligible cases include the following:

(a) death or wounds due to a terrorist attack, mine or bomb disposal duty, direct or indirect fire, rescue duty, collision of an aircraft, vehicle or vessel, on the condition that the occurrence is directly related to a hostile action;

(b) death or wounds as a direct result of friendly fire aimed at a hostile force or what is or was thought to be a hostile force;

(c) wounds that require not less than seven days of treatment in hospital, or an equivalent course of treatment, and that were caused by

(i) exposure to the elements as a consequence of an aircraft, vehicle or vessel being destroyed or disabled by a hostile action,

(ii) harsh treatment or neglect while a captive of a hostile force, or

(iii) the use of nuclear, biological or chemical agents by a hostile force;

(d) death caused by

(i) exposure to the elements as a consequence of an aircraft, vehicle or vessel being destroyed or disabled by a hostile action,

(ii) harsh treatment or neglect while a captive of a hostile force, or

(iii) the use of nuclear, biological or chemical agents by a hostile force; or

(e) mental disorders that are diagnosed according to the criteria set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, as amended from time to time, and based on a review by a qualified mental health care practitioner, are directly attributable to a hostile or perceived hostile action.

(3) Ineligible cases include the following:

(a) death or wounds due to exposure to the elements other than as set out in subparagraph (2)(c)(i) or (d)(i), or caused by acts of God;

(b) death or wounds caused by an accident arising from their employment in a theatre of operations but not directly attributable to a hostile action;

(c) death or wounds caused by disease; or

(d) death or wounds that were self-inflicted or caused by the victim’s negligence.

5. (1) The Medal shall only be awarded to a person once, and any additional occasions on which the person is wounded under circumstances described in paragraph 4(1)(b) shall be recognized by the awarding of a Bar.

(2) If a person has died under circumstances described in paragraph 4(1)(b) after having been awarded the Medal, the person shall be recognized by the awarding of a Bar.

6. The Medal or Bar represents each occasion on which a person has been wounded but does not represent the number of wounds sustained on any one occasion.

AWARD

7. The Chief of the Defence Staff shall identify any person who is eligible for the award of the Medal or Bar, inform the Governor General and arrange for the insignia to be presented.

8. An award of the Medal or Bar shall be ratified by instrument signed by the Governor General.

9. The Medal or Bar may be awarded posthumously.

PRESENTATION

10. Unless the Governor General directs otherwise, the Medal or Bar shall be presented to the recipient, on the Governor General’s behalf, as arranged with the Chief of the Defence Staff.

WEARING OF MEDAL AND BAR

11. (1) The Medal shall be worn on the left breast, suspended from the ribbon described in subsection 3(4) and in the order of precedence set out in the Canadian Honours System.

(2) The Bar shall be worn centred on the ribbon.

(3) If more than one Bar is worn, each Bar shall be spaced evenly on the ribbon.

(4) If the undress ribbon is worn, a silver maple leaf shall be worn centred on the ribbon of the Medal to indicate the award of a Bar, a gold maple leaf shall be worn to indicate the award of a second Bar and a red maple leaf shall be worn to indicate the award of a third Bar. If more than three Bars have been awarded, those devices shall be worn in combination so as to indicate the total number of Bars awarded.

12. A recipient of the Medal may wear a miniature medal, which is one-half the size of the Medal, on all occasions when the wearing of a miniature medal is customary.

CANCELLATION AND REINSTATEMENT

13. (1) The Governor General may, on the recommendation of the Chief of the Defence Staff,

(a) cancel or annul the award of the Medal or Bar to any person; and

(b) restore the award of a Medal or Bar that has been cancelled or annulled.

(2) If the award of a Medal or Bar is cancelled or annulled, the recipient’s name shall be deleted from the register referred to in paragraph 14(c).

ADMINISTRATION

14. The Director, Honours, Chancellery shall

(a) acquire the Medals and Bars;

(b) provide the Medals and Bars to the Chief of the Defence Staff;

(c) maintain a register containing the names of the recipients of the Medals and Bars and any other records relating to the award that the Director considers necessary; and

(d) perform any other functions in respect of the awards of the Medals and Bars that the Governor General may require the Director to perform.

GENERAL

15. Nothing in these Regulations limits the right of the Governor General to exercise all of the powers and authorities of Her Majesty in respect of the Medal and Bar.

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