Steve Fonyo, the man who ran across the country on an artificial limb in 1985 and raised millions for cancer research, has been stripped of his membership in the Order of Canada.
Fonyo’s membership was revoked due to his multiple criminal convictions, according to a press release issued Monday by the Governor General of Canada.
The release stated that Order of Canada recipients can have their membership revoked if they have been convicted of a crime; if their conduct “constitutes a significant departure from generally-recognized standards of public behaviour”; or if their conduct has been subject to official sanction by an adjudicating body or professional association.
Fonyo, who lost his leg to cancer when he was 12, raised $13 million for cancer research and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in November 1985.
In the years that followed, Fonyo had numerous run-ins with the law.
He has been convicted multiple times of impaired driving and driving while prohibited.
Fonyo spoke to CTV News outside provincial court in Surrey, B.C., in 1998 after pleading guilty to two counts of driving while prohibited.
"So I took a chance of driving and I got caught so I have to suffer the consequences,'' he said.
The Order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.
