A Port Coquitlam educator was at Rideau Hall today, Feb. 20, to be presented with a King Charles III Coronation Medal for her exemplary work.
Mary Simon, the Governor General of Canada, decorated Carol Todd with the hardware at a special ceremony in Ottawa.
As part of the Commonwealth program, Simon was allotted 100 medals with which she could personally recognize top citizens.
Simon divided her recipients into six categories:
- Reconciliation
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Mental Health and Wellness
- Nature and Environment
- Education
- Extraordinary Service to the Crown
Todd’s honour falls under Mental Health and Wellness for being “a resilient, tireless educator, leader and advocate for social action who promotes mental health and cyber safety against physical and sexual victimization.”
Todd, who works for School District 43 (SD43) as its coordinator for digital literacy and supportive technologies, started the Amanda Todd Legacy Society after the sudden death of her daughter, Amanda, a 15-year-old CABE student in Coquitlam.
Amanda Todd had been pursued online for years by Dutch national Aydin Coban before she took her life in 2012. Last month, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld Coban’s converted sentence of six years in jail for the crimes a New Westminster jury found him guilty of in 2022, after a 10-week trial:
- extortion
- importing and distributing child pornography
- possession of child pornography
- communicating with the intent to lure a child
- criminal harassment
At sentencing, Crown counsel asked for a judicial stay on the possession of child porn conviction.
Last year, Simon also decorated Todd with a meritorious service cross in recognition of her work with the Amanda Todd Legacy Society, a non-profit that helps at-risk youth find resources and help to cope with and learn about cyberbullying, mental health and internet safety.
Meanwhile, the first annual golf tournament to benefit the Amanda Todd Legacy Society will be held on May 22, 2025, at the Meadows Gardens Golf Club in Pitt Meadows. To take part, sponsor or donate an auction prize to the fundraiser, email [email protected].
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