Egerton Ryerson Award
Egerton Ryerson believed that education should be free for all (a revolutionary thought at the time) and that we should educate the children of "the blacksmith and magistrate alike".
Honouring Ms. Roberta Jamieson
and The Right Honourable Paul Martin
“On the importance of education generally we may remark it is as necessary as the light – it should be as common as water and as free as air.“ Egerton Ryerson, 1846
On November 28th, People for Education celebrated the work of two great advocates for education.
Roberta Jamieson is the president and CEO of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, which is dedicated to realizing the potential of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit youth through scholarship assistance and other support.
The Right Honourable Paul Martin leads the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, which is focused on reducing the Aboriginal youth dropout rate and increasing the number of Aboriginal students attending post-secondary institutions.
This year’s nominating committee included: Zanana Akande, Avie Bennett, Harold Brathwaite, Charles Coffey, David Crombie, Margot Forsyth, The Honourable Margaret McCain, Charles Pascal, and Arlene Perly-Rae.
Their work was celebrated at an evening that included presentations from Shawn Atleo – Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine – former chief, Senator Gerry St. Germain, the Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, Colton Quinn Clause – a Brock student who received support through the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, and the Honourable Laurel Broten – Minister of Education.
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The 2010 Egerton Ryerson Award Recipient
The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain was last year’s recipient of the Egerton Ryerson Award for Dedication to Public Education!
Mrs. McCain is a champion for children – from the very young to school age and beyond. Her interest in equity for children, in ensuring that all children have the best start possible, and in keeping children and young people’s issues in the public eye, makes her the perfect fourth recipient of the Egerton Ryerson Award.
A reception to honour Ms. McCain was held on November 23rd, 6pm – 8pm, at the National Headquarters of the Royal Bank of Canada.
The nominating committee – Zanana Akande, Avie Bennett, Harold Brathwaite, Charels Coffey, Martin Connell, David Crombie, Margot Forsythe, Charles Pascal and Arlene Perly-Rae.
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The 2009 Egerton Ryerson Award Recipient
Last year’s honouree was The Honourable William G. Davis, P.C., C.C., Q.C. for his dedication to public education. During his tenure as Education Minister (1962-71), Mr. Davis oversaw profound changes to the public education system in Ontario. Through his multi-faceted career, William Davis has embodied the spirit of Ryerson. He has been a tireless and non-partisan spokesperson for public education, both during his political tenure and since then – advocating for strong publicly-funded schools with the capacity to provide all students with a broadly-based education.
Thank you to Home Trust, the official naming sponsor for the 2009 Egerton Ryerson Award!
>> Click here to watch a 3 minute video of the evening!
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The 2008 Egerton Ryerson Award Recipient
In 2008, our honouree was Dr. Charles Pascal. We were very proud to honour his life-long commitment to education, to children and to equity.
He has run Ontario colleges; acted as Deputy Minister in different ministries in three different governments; and been the chair of the provinces Education Quality and Accountability Office. He is the Premier’s Advisor on Early Learning, and the CEO of the Atkinson Foundation.
A ceremony took place on February 10th at Massy College hosted by Steve Paikin from TVO.
Dr. Pascal was honoured by:
- Zanana Akande, former MPP and school principal
- Harold Brathwaite, CEO, Retired Teachers of Ontario, former director , Peel DSB
- Carol Goar, columnist, Atkinson Board Member
- The Right Honourable Margaret McCain
- Juno-nominee, Blaise Pascal
- Children’s advocate and performer, Raffi
- Former Minister of Finance, Greg Sorbara
- Minister of Education, Kathleen Wynne
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The 2007 Egerton Ryerson Award Recipient
Harold Brathwaite was the first recipient of the Annual Egerton Ryerson Award for Dedication to Public Education.
The award honoured Harold’s commitment to public education and his dedication to the ideal that all students should have access to the education they need. Over the years he has been an outstanding spokesperson for public education, he has developed many fine programs for students at risk and participated in the development of public education policy at all levels. He has fought tirelessly for equity in the public education system and for funding sufficient to provide the rich, broadly-based education that every Ontario student deserves.