Paul Martin, Rick Hillier getting Orders of Canada

Hockey great Scotty Bowman, former eBay exec Jeffrey Skoll also on list

By Laura Payton, CBC News

Posted: Dec 30, 2011 5:48 PM ET

Last Updated: Dec 30, 2011 6:10 PM ET

Former prime minister Paul Martin, retired general Rick Hillier, hockey great Scotty Bowman and former eBay executive Jeffrey Skoll are among 66 prominent Canadians receiving Order of Canada appointments, the governor general's office announced Friday.

Martin, 73, who was finance minister from 1997 to 2002, is being appointed a companion of the Order of Canada, the highest rank. While Martin was finance minister, the government brought Canada from deficit into surplus. He went on to fight a bitter battle with former prime minister Jean Chrétien and led the Liberals from the end of 2003 until losing an election to Stephen Harper's Conservatives on Jan. 23, 2006.

Bowman, 78, is being appointed an officer of the Order of Canada. He won a record nine Stanley Cups as a head coach, including four straight with the Montreal Canadiens from 1976-1979. He has 1,244 regular season victories behind the bench, and 223 in the playoffs, both all-time marks in the National Hockey League.

He has also won three cup rings in various management roles. On television, Bowman is a former analyst for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

Hillier served as chief of the defence staff, Canada's top soldier, from 2005 to 2008 and led the Canadian Forces as the mission in Afghanistan evolved into a more dangerous combat mission.

Skoll made billions as an internet entrepreneur, including serving as the first president of online auction site eBay. He developed the company's inaugural business plan, led it through its initial public offering and went on to become a producer and philanthropist.

Other notable appointments include:

Retired general Maurice Baril, former chief of the defence staff.
Aldo Bensadoun, founder of the Aldo Group.
Gen. Charles Bouchard, who led the NATO mission in Libya.
Seymour Schulich, a mining and oil sands entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist, who's being promoted from member to officer.
Former diplomat Robert Fowler, the former Canadian ambassador to the UN who was kidnapped by insurgents in Niger in 2008.
Former top civil servant Kevin Lynch, who served as clerk of the Privy Council.
University of Saskatchewan president Peter MacKinnon.
CBC broadcaster Stuart McLean.
Former CBC sports broadcaster Brian Williams, who later moved to CTV, where he played a major role in CTV and TSN's 2010 Olympic coverage.

No date has been set for the Order of Canada ceremony.

with files from CBC Sports

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