Riverview High teacher Armand Doucet was floored when he received a phone call telling him he would be appointed to the Order of Canada.
“Speechless, humbled. Had to take a few moments to reflect and recollect myself,” Doucet said on Monday.
The honour comes as a result of his advocacy work promoting public education. For example, in 2020 he co-authored a Unesco report about teaching during the pandemic.
He also co-authored a book called Hope where are you? with Mexican teacher Elisa Guerra, which aims to help children deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said over a hundred teachers around the world are translating the book.
During a time where schools across the province are experiencing teacher shortages, he encourages others to take up the profession.
“It definitely is a tough profession at the moment. There’s ebbs and flows to it but it’s very rewarding. Though you’re planting seeds that you might not see the tree grow for a long period of time, it is something that needs to be done for our communities to thrive,” he said.
Though he received the news during the winter break, he said he had received a few messages from students congratulating him.
He doesn’t know when the official investiture will happen, but he said he was told it would likely be toward the end of 2023.