Order of Canada honorees

Four McGill professors were named to the Order of Canada by Governor General Romeo Leblanc earlier this month. Dr. Harvey Barkun, Dr. Donald Baxter and Dr. Carroll Laurin from the Faculty of Medicine were named officers of the Order, while law professor William Tetley was named a member.

The Order of Canada is one of the highest honours the federal government awards to citizens of the country.

• As the Faculty of Medicine's Associate Dean (Professional Affairs), Dr. Harvey Barkun represents McGill, particularly at a provincial level, on issues of interest to all Quebec medical schools­the licensing of new graduates and the ability to recruit non-Canadians, for instance. The executive director of the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges, Barkun has defended the important role played by the country's academic teaching hospitals.
  
  In the 1980s, Barkun served on the Quebec government's Rochon commission examining health care policy in the province. He helped set up community health clinics and departments of community health. Barkun chairs the Education Committee of Quebec's Licensing and Certifying Body and has been the chief executive officer of the Montreal General Hospital and the medical director of the Royal Victoria Hospital.
  
  
• Dr. Donald Baxter is an emeritus professor of neurology and neurosurgery. He is the author or co-author of a wide range of scientific papers related to neurology which deal with subjects as diverse as epilepsy, alcoholism, convulsive disorders and Parkinson's disease. A one-time director of the Montreal Neurological Institute, Baxter was also the MNI's neurologist-in-chief.
  
  In addition, Baxter has served as the president of the Canadian Neurological Association and as the chair of McGill's Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery. He led a major funding campaign to ensure support for advanced brain research. At McGill, Baxter helped foster a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the various disesases which affect the nervous system.
  
  
• Dr. Carroll Laurin holds McGill's Marthe & Maurice E. Müller Chair of Orthopedics. Laurin is known internationally for his expertise on disorders relating to knees, feet and hips. He is also a leading authority on sports medicine. The orthopedic surgeon-in-chief of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Laurin chairs McGill's Division of Orthopedics. He established a multidicsiplinary foot clinic at the Royal Vic, drawing together specialists from a variety of fields, including vascular surgery, trauma, sports medicine, rheumatology and metabolic disease.
  
  Laurin edited the world's first orthopedic atlas and was the director of medical services for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Laurin has served on the editorial boards of several orthopedic publications and is a past president of the Canadian Orthopedic Association.
  
  
• Professor William Tetley was a Quebec cabinet minister between 1970 and 1976, responsible for such portfolios as revenue and financial institutions. He has been involved in drafting maritime laws for four countries and is recognized internationally for his expertise in admiralty law.
  
  Tetley chairs the executive committee of the Association of Maritime Arbitrators of Canada and is the president of the International Maritime Arbitration Organization. His book Marine Cargo Claims earned the Albert Lilar Prize in 1981 as the best book published on international maritime law in a three-year period.
  
  Tetley recently headed up a government task force examining the operations of Montreal's maritime industry which recommended major changes to the labour/management relationship at the Port of Montreal.