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Former chief of defence staff General Rick Hillier (left) and Conservative MP for Conservative MP for Airdrie-Cochrane Blake Richards look on as Valour in the Presence of the Enemy founder Bruce Moncur speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
By The Canadian Press

Vets, MPs call on feds to launch honour review board to award Canadian Victoria Cross

Apr 15, 2026 | 11:33 AM

OTTAWA — The federal government is facing mounting calls to establish a military honours review board, and to finally award Canada’s highest military honour.

The Canadian Victoria Cross was established in 1993 to recognize acts of valour, self-sacrifice, or devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy, but it has never been awarded.

A delegation led by the former chief of defence staff, retired general Rick Hillier, held a press conference in Ottawa today to call on the government to review the case of Pte. Jess Larochelle, who fought in Afghanistan, and consider him for the first honour of the Canadian Victoria Cross.

In 2006, Larochelle single-handedly fought off a Taliban attack, saving his platoon’s position in the process.

He was awarded the Star of Military Valour at the time, before he died in 2023.

Liberal MP Pauline Rochefort will present a petition today signed by more than 16,000 Canadians to back the creation of a review board and Conservative MP Blake Richards is rallying MPs to press the government to do it.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2026

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press