Governor General Mary Simon, Canada's first Indigenous Governor General, presented 63 recipients recently with the Order of Canada, including Winnipeg's own Steve Bell.
"The ceremony was gorgeous," says Bell. "It was at Rideau Hall [in Ottawa]. It's a beautiful old stately building. You're ushered in and one by one they read your citation."
For Bell, Simon read the following: "Steve Bell is a modern-day troubadour. A Christian music singer-songwriter and guitarist, he founded the independent record label Signpost Music. He has released 20 acclaimed albums, and has won numerous JUNO, Western Canadian Music and Gospel Music Association awards. An advocate for community causes, he was a co-founder of the Churches for Freedom Road coalition that allied with Shoal Lake 40 First Nation to successfully campaign for safe access to the Trans-Canada Highway. His poetic craft and drive for social justice continues to inspire Canadians nationwide."
Bell's wife and daughter flew with him to Ottawa for the Dec. 12 ceremony two years after Bell first received the information that he would receive this prestigious award. Bell took home the Order of Manitoba back in 2021.
"You're in this room with all these magnificent people. When they start reading the citations of these people that you and I would never have heard of otherwise, for the most part. There are a few of us that are public people, but most are scientists, educators, or activists who are not well-known. In an era where it's hard to feel really great about human beings, it's really important to celebrate the goodness that comes from human beings. It's very inspiring!"
Among the other recipients was actor Victor Garber who was in The Titanic as well as the TV series Alias.
"I saw him, and he's a very kind man. Immediately you feel kindness and goodness eminating from him. For some reason he looks a little Manitoba-Mennonite-ish. I'm assuming he's somebody I know from back home. At one point I waved at him and he looked at me funny and did a wave back. It was my daughter who said, 'Dad, that's Victor Garber.' She went and got a photo with him. Proud to be a Canadian and proud to have made his contribution."
According to Bell, receiving this Order of Canada medal and honour acts as a springboard for him to continue doing whatever he can to make Canada a better place.
"It feels like a calling to keep doing it. It's not like you've done your job. It's like we're seeing you go in a direction and we want to support you, affirm you, and encourage you to continue. As a people we need to be holding up models of good, civic people of people who work for the common good."
Bell comments on the fact that so many people in modern society are focused on themselves as individuals, rather than hoping to help their fellow man.
"If we think about who God is, as Trinitarian, God is a community in God's very self. One thing that Salvation certainly means is being saved from radical alienation, whether it's chosen or imposed. We've seen Jesus drawing in people in from the margins all the time. Whoever's excluded, Jesus brings in and that's the offence. I think to have public ceremonies to honour folks that see a little differently, it's not a bad thing."
Bell will continue to tour Canada in the new year with his recent album The Glad Surprise.