Victoria Cross (Canada) - Conferment

Conferment

The process of awarding the Victoria Cross may take place in two ways: One is through a recommendation by the Decorations and Commendations Advisory Committee, which is a part of the Department of National Defence and has six members, one appointed by the governor general and the rest by the chief of the Defence Staff. Alternatively, a field commander can submit a name for consideration, though permission must be obtained from the governor general before the award can be presented. Recipients are entitled to receive an annuity from the Crown in Right of Canada; per the Canadian gallantry awards order issued in January 2005, members of the Canadian Forces or those who joined the British forces while domiciled in Canada or Newfoundland prior to 31 March 1949 may, after receiving the Victoria Cross, be granted C$3,000 each year. Previously, Canadians who were posthumously awarded the British Victoria Cross were given special headstones at their burial sites in Commonwealth War Graves and other cemeteries.

To date, no Canadian Victoria Cross has been conferred; Smokey Smith, who died in 2005, was the last Canadian recipient of the British Victoria Cross, receiving it from King George VI in 1945. Prior to the ceremony, there was speculation that Queen Elizabeth II would, at the rededication of the Vimy Memorial at which she was to preside on 7 April 2007, present a Victoria Cross to her Canadian prime minister at the time, Stephen Harper, in recognition of the gallantry of the Unknown Soldier, as representative of all Canadian forces casualties of combat. The proposal was met with a mixed response from members of the Royal Canadian Legion and Canadian Forces, detractors feeling that the Unknown Soldier should not be elevated above his other fallen comrades, and it had also been agreed at the time of the Unknown Soldier's repatriation that no award or decoration would be bestowed on the remains. No decision was taken about the awarding of the Canadian Victoria Cross to the Canadian Unknown Soldier.