CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT Examiner Former Peterborough MP and MPP Peter Adams, seen March 30 addressing the crowd during the Peterborough Speaker Series, will be invested into the Order of Ontario at a ceremony on Thursday.
Two weeks ago Peter Adams got some pretty surprising news.
The former Peterborough MPP and MP found out he was awarded the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour. A ceremony for the prestigious acknowledgment takes place Thursday at Queen’s Park in Toronto.
But Adams wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. He was asked to keep the award secret until recipients were announced.
Receiving the Order of Ontario is a tremendous honour, he said.
Keeping it a secret was a bit difficult, he said, particularly during the first few days.
He also had to postpone a couple of meetings scheduled for that day, he said, without any explanation for the cancellation.
With a laugh, he said he has already rented his tuxedo for the prestigious ceremony.
Adams doesn’t really know why he’s been selected.
It’s rare for politicians to make the list, he said, so perhaps it has something to do with his community involvement or academic work.
The synopsis next to his name didn’t offer much insight.
“Peter Adams, of Peterborough, a politician, professor and volunteer whose efforts raised Peterborough’s profile in the 1990s, when the province decided to make the city the new home of the Ministry of Natural Resources.”
“I guess until I hear the citation Thursday I won’t know for sure,” Adams said, after hearing the description.
He also doesn’t know who nominated him, and is hoping next week’s ceremony illuminates that piece of the puzzle.
Adams has received an honorary doctorate from Trent University in 2010 and remains professor emeritus there. He was one of the founding members of the university’s geography department.
He chaired the Sport, Recreation and Wellness for All Campaign at Trent University, which exceeded its goal of $4 million for the new athletics centre at the university.
He’s also authored numerous books and advocates for numerous causes like Sleeping Children Around the World, an organization that delivers bed kits to children in developing countries.
But Adams said it’s his work representing Peterborough riding residents that he’s most proud of.
Adams served as MPP from 1987 to 1990 and as MP from 1994 to 2005.
“Being elected as MPP, and MP, so faithfully, by so many people,” Adams said. “That was really the big thing.”
NOTE: Other names on the list include John Tory, former leader of the provincial Progressive Conservatives, and Linda Schular, co-creator and executive producer of the Degrassi television series. There are 27 people who are receiving the order Thursday.
sdeeth@peterboroughexaminer.com
