By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

OTTAWA, April 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Governor General Michaelle Jean has officially accepted Frank Chauvin’s resignation from the Order of Canada, according to information published in the Canada Gazette, on April 17, 2010.

Mr. Chauvin, who was inducted into the Order in 1987 for his work in support of Haitian orphans, announced his intention to return his Order of Canada medal in July 2008 in protest over the appointment of Canadian arch-abortionist Dr. Henry Morgentaler to the Order.

“Yes, it’s definitely going. I don’t want to be painted with the same brush as Morgentaler. It’s definitely going back,” Mr. Chauvin said at the time, explaining that he believes the probity of the Order of Canada was tainted by Morgentaler’s induction into it.

Chauvin is a retired police detective, renowned for his dedication to serving the poor in international communities and for his tireless pro-life work. He is the founder of Le Foyer des Filles de Dieu, an orphanage for girls in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, that was badly damaged in the recent earthquake.

Following the announcement of his intention to return his medal, Chauvin launched a legal challenge against the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada that granted the award to Morgentaler.

Mr. Chauvin based his challenge on irregularities in the decision process regarding Morgentaler’s appointment, pointing out that the Council apparently altered its protocol from consensus to majority vote in order to successfully nominate Morgentaler.

He also claimed that Chief Justice of Canada Beverley McLachlin, who chairs the council, should have removed herself from the process because Morgentaler was a litigant in a court case against the government of New Brunswick, seeking public funding for his private, for-profit abortion facility in that province.

In November 2009, a federal court ruled that Morgentaler’s induction into the Order of Canada could not be legally contested and rejected Mr. Chauvin’s challenge on the grounds that it was “plain and obvious that [it] cannot succeed.”

Morgentaler gained notoriety by repeatedly breaking Canadian criminal law in order to push for legalized abortion; he was arrested in 1970 for performing illegal abortions, and spent ten months in jail.

He now owns and operates abortion clinics in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Fredericton, New Brunswick, and St. John’s, Newfoundland.

In 2007, Canada’s history magazine The Beaver published the results of an open vote asking readers to compile a list of the worst Canadians. With just under 15,000 votes submitted, Henry Morgentaler came in as number three. Pierre Trudeau garnered the number one spot. Both were instrumental in bring about abortion on demand in Canada.

See previous LSN coverage:

Canadian Governor General Accepts Resignations from Order of Canada over Morgentaler Fiasco
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060202.html

Federal Court Rejects Application to Review Morgentaler Order of Canada
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09112705.html

Order of Canada Member Launches Legal Challenge to Morgentaler Award
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08101411.html

8th Canadian to Return Order of Canada Because of Morgentaler Award
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08071118.html

Political and Practical Abortion Founders Voted Worst Canadians
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07073101.html