The Order of Military Merit
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Appendices bn Appendix One Order-in-Council Authorizing the Establishment of the Order of Military Merit P.C. 1972-810 1May1972 WHEREAS it is desirable that there be a society of honour in Canada to be known as the Order of Military Merit; AND WHEREAS the establishment of the Order of Military Merit is properly of concern to Her Majesty as Queen of Canada; THEREFORE His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, is pleased to advise 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 providing that upon, from and after the first day of July, in the Year of Our Lord, One thousand nine hundred and seventy-two, there shall be, in Canada, a society of honour to be known as the Order of Military Merit, which Order shall be established and governed in accordance with the annexed Constitution of the Order of Military Merit, and providing further that the said Constitution may be amended, revoked or revised by Letters Patent issued by Her Majesty, Her heirs and successors or the Governor Ge neral of Canada on Her behalf. 188 I The Order of Military Merit Appendix Two Letters Patent Constituting the Order ofMilitary Merit, 1972 ELIZABETH R 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, Defender of the Faith. TO ALL TO WHOM these Presents shall come or whom the same may in any way concern, GREETING: WHEREAS it is desirable and Our Privy Council for Canada has advised that Letters Patent do issue establishing a society of honour in Canada to be known as the Order of Military Merit for the purpose of according recognition to Canadian citizens and other persons for military merit. NOW KNOW YE that We, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada, do by these Presents institute, erect, constitute and create a society of honour to be known by and have forever hereafter, the name, style and designation of the Order of Military Merit. AND WE DO ordain, direct and appoint that the said Order shall consist of the Sovereign, the Governor General of Canada, a Principal Commander and such members together with such honorary members as We, Our heirs and successors or Our Governor General of Canada on Our behalf shall in accordance with the Constitution of the Order, from time to time appoint. AND WE DO further ordain, direct and appoint that the said Order shall be governed by the Constitution of the Order of Military Merit set out in the Schedule hereto, as that Schedule may from time to time be amended, revoked or revised by Letters Patent issued by Us, Our heirs and successors or Our Governor General of Canada on Our behalf. and by such ancillary Ordinances as may from Lime to time be estab- lished, made, amended, revoked or revised by Our Governor Gener.al of Canada. The Order o! Military Merit I 189 AND to that end the Ordinances of the said Order may be legally established, We do hereby authorize and command that a seal be immediately engraven, that the said seal shall hereafter be the Seal of the Order, that the Ordinances of the Order shall be sealed by and with the said Seal after having received the signature of Our Governor General of Canada, and that the Ordinances so signed and sealed shall be of the same validity and read and taken as if those Ordinances and every article of them had been recited verbatim in these Our Letters Patent and passed under the Great Seal of Canada. IN WITNESS WHEREOF WE have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent, and for the greater testimony and validity thereof, We have caused Our Great Seal of Canada to be affixed to these Presents, which We have signed with Our Royal Hand. GIVEN the tenth day of May in the Year of Our Lord, One thousand nine hundred and seventy-two and in the twenty-first Year of Our Reign. BY HER MAJESTY'S COMMAND, P. E. TRUDEAU Prime Minister of Canada 190 I The Order of M ilita ry Me rit Appendix Three Constitution of the Order of Military Merit, 1972 The Order of Military Merit 1. (1) The Order of Military Merit, hereinafter called "the Order", shall consist of the Sovereign, the Governor General of Canada, the Principal Commander and the members and honorary members of the Order. (2) Every person who, while a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, is appointed to be a Commander of the Order, an Officer of the Order or a Member of the Order is a member of the Order. (3) Every person who, while a member of the armed forces of a country other than Canada, is appointed to be an honorary Commander of the Order, an honorary Officer of the Order or an honorary Member of the Order is an honorary member of the Order. Officers and Committee of the Order of Military Merit 2 . (I) The Governor General of Canada shall, by virtue of that office, be the Chancellor of the Order and a Commander of the Order. (2) The Chief of the Defence Staff shall, by virtue of that office, be the Principal Commander of the Order. 3. The Chancellor is charged with the administration of the Order. 4. There shall be an Advisory Committee for the Order, hereinafter ca ll ed "the Committee", comprised of a) one member who shall be appointed to the Committee by the Governor General; and b) five other members who shall be members of the Canadian Armed Forces and be appointed to the Committee by the Chief of the Defence Staff. 5. (1) The Committee shall a) consider nominations of persons of merit who are members of the Canadian Armed Forces for (i) admission to the Order as Commanders, (ii) admission to the Order as Officers, or (iii) admission to the Order as Members; The Order of Military Merit I 191 b) consider nominations of persons of merit who are members of the armed forces of countries other than Canada for (i) admission to the Order as honorary Commanders, (ii) admission to the Order as honorary Officers, or (iii) admission to the Order as honorary Members; c) compile and submit to the Chief of the Defence Staff lists of those nom- inees who, in the opinion of the Committee, have the greatest merit in each category; and d) advise the Chief of the Defence Staff on such other matters concerning the Order as he may refer to the Committee for consideration. (2) Upon receipt from the Committee of the lists of nominees for admission to the Order, the Chief of the Defence Staff shall recommend to the Minister of National Defence the names of those nominees who, in the opinion of the Chief of the Defence Staff, have the greatest merit in each category. 6. Except as may otherwise be prescribed in the Ordinances of the Order, the Secretary to the Governor General shall be the Secretary General of the Order and shall maintain the records of the Order and of the Committee, arrange for investitures and perform such other functions in respect to the Order as the Governor General may require him to perform. 7. The Governor General may appoint such other officials for the Order as he, in his sole discretion, considers advisable. 8. A person is not a member of the Order by reason only of his being a member of the Committee or an official of the Order. Appointments 9. (1) Appointment as Commanders, Officers and Members of the Order and as honorary Commanders, Officers and Members of the Order shall be made, with the approval of the Sovereign, by an Instrument signed by the Governor General and sealed with the Seal of the Order and shall have effect from the date of the affixing or the Seal unless another effective date is specified in the Instrument. (2) The Governor General may appoint to be Commanders, Officers and Members of the Order, other than honorary Commanders, Officers and Members, in any year, a number of eligible persons that does not exceed one-tenth of one percent of the average number of persons who were members of the Canadian Armed Forces during the immediately preceding year. 192 I The Order of Military Merit 10. Nothing in this Constitution limits the rights of the Governor General to exercise all powers and authorities of the Sovereign in respect of the Order. Eligibility for Appointment 11. (1) Only members of the Canadian Armed Forces are eligible to be appointed as Commanders, Officers and Members of the Order. (2) Only members of the armed forces of a country other than Canada are eligible to be appointed as honorary Commanders, Officers or Members of the Order. Commanders of the Order of Military Merit 12. (1) Appointments as Commanders of the Order shall be made for outstand- ingly meritorious service in duties of great responsibility. (2) Appointments as honorary Commanders of the Order shall be made for outstandingly meritorious service to Canada or to the Canadian Armed Forces in military duties of great responsibility. 13. Where a Governor General or Chief of the Defence Staff ceases to hold such offices, be shall continue, by virtue of his having held that office, to be a Commander of the Order. 14. The Governor General may appoint to be Commanders of the Order, in any year, a number of eligible persons that is not greater than the number of per- sons that most closely approximates five percent of the total number of persons that he may, under subsection 9(2), appoint to all categories of membership, other than honorary membership, in the Order in that year.