A total of 113 people have been announced as being added to or promoted within the Order of Canada, including five with ties to our area.

Included on that list are Joe and Stephanie Mancini, who founded The Working Centre in 1982.

Located on Queen Street in downtown Kitchener, The Working Centre offers training, education, employment and other services for people at risk of or experiencing poverty.

Both are being named members of the order, as is Jim Walker – a history professor at the University of Waterloo best known for his work on African-Canadian history and race relations.

Being promoted to officers of the order are John English, a historian, author and former MP for Kitchener, and First Nations activist Roberta Jamieson.

Other names on the list with local ties include Dennis O’Connor, who led the inquiry into the Walkerton tainted water scandal, and science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer.

Considered one of Canada’s highest civilian honours, the Order of Canada has recognized more than 6,500 Canadians since its inception.

The member level is intended to recognize “outstanding contributions at the local or regional level or in a special field of activity,” with the officer level reserved for people who have shown “national service or achievement.”

The highest level of the order, the companion level, is for “national pre-eminence or international service or achievement.”