Roberta Bondar is first recipient of Dr. Stephen Blizzard Trailblazer Award
November 18, 2022
Many years ago while attending an international aerospace engineering conference for the first time, Dr. Roberta Bondar observed a dignified man with a briefcase walking by her.
“He exuded the confidence of someone who was really supposed to be there,” she recalled. “He was just a nice man who nodded and gave a gentle wave to a colleague here and there.”
When Bondar’s colleague whispered in awe, ‘That is Dr. Stephen Blizzard and he is one of our Canadian reps’, she was almost speechless.
“Oh, he really looks professional was all that I could manage’,” she said.
After Blizzard disappeared into the crowd, Bondar wondered if he might one day wave hello to her.
That didn’t happen.
The next best thing was her being the recipient of the inaugural Dr. Stephen Blizzard Trailblazer Award recognizing Western University Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry alumni who are blazing a trail and exemplifying excellence in education, advocacy and humanitarian initiatives.
Blizzard, the only Black person to be a Canadian Armed Forces jet pilot and flight surgeon simultaneously, died in June 2020 at age 91.
He graduated from Western in 1963.
“The recognition of Dr. Blizzard’s lifetime of dedicated humanitarian work and excellence in aviation and aerospace medicine will inspire us to succeed, even when the odds are against us,” noted the Order of Canada recipient who, in 1992, made history aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery, becoming the first neurologist and Canada’s first female space astronaut. “It continues the legacy that Dr. Blizzard established throughout his career bolstered by his personal values.”
In accepting the honour, Bondar – who graduated from Western University in 1971 with a Master of Science in Pathology -- said she is deeply humbled to share in Blizzard’s name and legacy.
“In my reading, I realized we had much in common even then and I shouldn’t have been so shy about speaking to him even though he already was a legend,” she noted. “It had always been tough for me to get airtime with professional people and that had instilled a belief that I didn’t have much to contribute and that my voice was not important.
“Through his humanitarian work in medicine and in the aviation environment and mine in space medicine and in a natural environment of earth, we will always be colleagues across time and space. Although Dr. Blizzard is no longer with us in person, today is the day when I receive that wave and today I wave to you for showing me how it is done.”
The new Alumni of Distinction award recognizes trailblazing Doctor of Medicine graduates and preference will be given to those from equity-deserving groups who are inspiring the next generation of leaders in medicine.
Earlier this year, Dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University Dr. John Yoo became familiar with Blizzard who left Trinidad & Tobago in 1958 and spent a year with the Ontario Veterinary College faculty as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Surgery before enrolling in medicine at Western University.
“The more I read about him, the more inspired I became,” the renowned surgeon said. “Simply put, he led an extraordinary life. Along with his pathway to medicine and his passion for aviation and service, he stood unique among his peers for his grit and determination.”
Tuberculosis expert Dr. Anne Fanning was a classmate of Blizzard.
“A pretty rowdy bunch of 56 men and four women, the majority of us were a far cry from the mature and responsible gentleman who was Stephen Blizzard, yet he was very much a part of our class,” said the retired physician. “He was a little like a father figure. He was warm, friendly and though he clearly knew more and had much wider experience than the rest of us, he never assumed a posture of greater wisdom. He shared what he knew. How appropriate this award will honour him in perpetuity and provide an opportunity for others to reach their dreams.”
Blizzard’s wife of 65 years, Merle, and their three children, Roberto, Gloria and Carlos, endorsed the creation of the award.
“Dad would have been pleased with the establishment of this award,” said Gloria Blizzard who is a non-fiction writer, poet and penner of songs. “However, he would not have been surprised as he knew his work. He understood on a profound level the value of his profile and contributions to Canada’s history. From the first Flight Black surgeon in the Canadian military to the first doctor on board the Hai Hong (the freighter that assisted with the movement and processing of Vietnamese refugees from Malaysia to Canada) as part of Operation MAGNET, he loved flying as much as medicine. He valued his solo jet flights on the CT-114 and the T-33 as well as invitations to fly with fellow pilot Major Wally Peters of the Snowbirds. He loved racing and spinning through those skies at G-Force speed.”
Taking advantage of a Trinidad & Tobago government scholarship, Blizzard successfully pursued veterinary medicine studies at the University of Edinburgh and returned to the twin-island republic to serve as a veterinarian.
In 1958, he and his wife immigrated to Canada and, a year later, he started his medical studies at Western University and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force Officer Reserve Training program.
Dr. Stephen Blizzard (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Blizzard earned his wings as a jet pilot in 1968 while working full-time at the base as a flight surgeon and performing his jet and ground training part-time. In his 16 years as a flight surgeon and military jet pilot, he served as Squadron leader, Major and Deputy Commanding Officer with the Canadian Air National Defence Medical Detachment.
He was the first doctor onsite in 1978 as part of Mission Operation MAGNET that airlifted Vietnamese refugees from Kuala Lumpur to Canada. He also served with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Egypt and spent a few months in Zimbabwe as an Air Force medical adviser.
After retiring from the Canadian Air Force in 1983, Blizzard continued working with the Department of Civil Aviation as a Senior Safety Consultant.
A special assignment in 1990 to visit Russian aviation and space facilities and a Russian space shuttle was a highlight for Blizzard who, at the time, was the only Canadian to tour these once very secret facilities.
Presenter in 1975 of the first paper on Aviation Medicine in the Commonwealth Caribbean, ‘The Aerial Transportation of Patients,’ he won the internationally acclaimed Forrest M. Bird Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award in 2007 for his exceptional contributions to the safety of civil aviation as a physician and pilot by exercising excellent clinical judgment, logic and common sense in the medical evaluation of airmen.
Blizzard was also the recipient of the Dr. Wilbur Franks Award that is the highest honour in Canadian aviation medicine, Canadian and United Nations Peacekeeping Medals, a Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in Health Sciences and a member of the exclusive International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine that limits its membership to 250 individuals worldwide.
