Ernie Regehr has spent a lifetime working toward disarmament and an end to violent conflicts around the globe. On Jan. 21, he was awarded the prestigious Pearson Peace Medal, which recognizes outstanding Canadians who have made personal contributions to peace and social justice.
Governor General David Johnston presented the prize, calling Regehr a “worthy heir” to Lester Pearson and the 25 laureates who preceded him, the most recent of whom was Romeo Dallaire in 2004.
In 1976, Regehr co-founded Project Ploughshares, hoping to spur nuclear disarmament and an end to large transfers of arms to the developing world. Today, the ecumenical peace centre, which is backed by the Canadian Council of Churches, continues to strive for peaceful resolutions to conflicts, and limited, controlled use and trade of weapons.
Although Regehr has retired from his work with Project Ploughshares, he remains a research fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel University College, a Mennonite college affiliated with the University of Waterloo, and a fellow of the Simons Foundation of Vancouver, which promotes education in peace, disarmament, international law and human security. He continues to write and research, and keeps up a long-running blog at disarmingconflict.ca. He also received a high honour in 2003, when he was made an officer of the Order of Canada.
Regehr was also the recipient of the Presbyterian Church’s E.H. Johnson award for mission in 2007. – C.Purvis
