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Canwest News Service





Cancer runner, Order of Canada recipient Fonyo going to jail



Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008



Steven Fonyo, in this 2005
photo, stand near a B.C. beach
named in his honour. On
Thursday, the Order of
Canada recipient and runner
for cancer was sentenced to
30 days in jail.
Diana Nethercott



SURREY, B.C. - Steve Fonyo, the Order of Canada recipient who raised more than $13 million for cancer research in the 1980s, was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Wednesday.

Fonyo, who in 1984-85 ran the 7,924 kilometres between St. John's, Nfld., and Victoria, B.C. after being inspired by Terry Fox's unfinished Marathon of Hope, pleaded guilty to two counts of driving without a licence. He will serve his sentence on weekends, will be on probation for nine months, and is prohibited from driving for three years, B.C. provincial court records show.

In December 2007, he was convicted of a similar charge and was prohibited from driving for a year. Altogether, he has seven convictions for driving without a licence.

The 43-year-old Fonyo, from Surrey, B.C., lost his left leg to bone cancer when he was 12 and began his Journey for Lives as an 18 year old in 1984. His cross-country journey catapulted him to fame in the wake of Fox's death, landing him meetings with Princess Diana, George Harrison, and Mikhail Gorbachev. He was named Canada's athlete of the year in 1985.

But the burdens of fame quickly caught up with the shy young man. After endless comparisons to Fox, overwhelming media coverage, bomb threats, and the drawn-out, harrowing death of his father from lung cancer, he withdrew from the public eye.

His life quickly spiralled out of control and he fell into cocaine and alcohol addiction. Fonyo had a few brushes with the law, including assault, weapons, and theft charges in the 1990s, a 2001 impaired driving charge, and a shoplifting charge in 2006 for stealing from a grocery store.

Today, after years of counselling and rediscovering church, the heavy-machinery mechanic prefers to lead a quiet life.

In a 2005 interview with the Vancouver Courier, he said he couldn't run from the past. "There's a lot of things I'd change, more than one, maybe more than a hundred. I have to live with today and move on; there's always a new day. That's the way it is," he said.

With files from the Vancouver Courier




© Canwest News Service 2008

[S^N]

The Province


Teen cancer hero back in jail after assault charge


By Staff Reporter, The Province August 21, 2009 1:06 AM


Steve Fonyo, the Order of Canada recipient who ran across Canada in 1984 as a teen, raising more than

$13 million for cancer research, has had another run-in with the law.

Fonyo, who lost his left leg to bone cancer at age 12, struggled with his newfound fame following his journey and the subsequent death of his father after a long battle with cancer.

His struggles with cocaine and alcohol in the 1990s led to charges of assault, theft and impaired driving.

On Aug.13, Fonyo, who was last known to have been working as a heavy-machinery mechanic, appeared in Surrey Provincial Court charged with one count of assault.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one day in jail. He was credited for 10 days already served. He was also subject to a one-year probation order.

But just five days later, on Tuesday, the 44-year-old was back in Surrey court, having breached his conditions.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 days in jail, which he is serving.

Fonyo's previous brushes with the law have been well documented.

In 1996, he pleaded guilty to 16 charges for offences in Edmonton, including assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, fraud for writing bad cheques totalling $10,000 to supermarkets and possession of a stolen vehicle.

He has also been convicted at least five times of impaired driving and seven times of driving without a licence, most recently in the fall of 2008.

He was named Canada's Athlete of the Year in 1985 and awarded the Order of Canada in 1987.



© Copyright © The Province

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Vancouver Sun



Steve Fonyo stripped of Order of Canada over criminal convictions


By Andrea Woo, Vancouver Sun
January 25, 2010 5:19 PM



Steve Fonyo at the shore of the beach where he finished his cross Canada run. The beach is named in his honor.
Photograph by: Diana Nethercott, Canwest News Service

Steve Fonyo, the amputee who became a national hero when he raised $13 million during a cross-country marathon in 1984, has been stripped of his Order of Canada.

The revocation is related to Fonyo's multiple criminal convictions, which "undermine the credibility, integrity [and] relevance" of the Order, according to a release issued by the Rideau Hall press office Monday in Ottawa.

Fonyo's struggles with depression, drugs and alcoholism led to a series of assault, theft and impaired driving convictions.

Satnam Singh Sidhu, Fonyo's former boss at Trans Canada Auto & Transmission Services in Surrey, said the cancer survivor received a notice about the revocation over the summer.

"He was upset about it," Sidhu said. "I think he really cared about it. That was something that belonged to him."

Sidhu said he had no choice but to fire Fonyo in August following a number of workplace incidents that included Fonyo leaving early, not going into work at all, driving without a licence and using shop parts on his own car.

Still, Sidhu praised Fonyo's accomplishments and said they shouldn't be overshadowed by the troubles in his personal life.

"They gave him the Order of Canada based on his accomplishments and they're still there," said Sidhu. "It's not like he didn't do it, or lied about it. He finished his marathon and was an inspiration to a lot of people."

Fonyo lost his left leg to bone cancer at age 12. He raised $13 million during his 14-month-long, 7,294-kilometre "Journey for Lives" marathon, but his accomplishment was disparaged by those who felt he merely copied fellow amputee Terry Fox.

Fonyo, who has lived in both Vernon and Surrey, appeared in Surrey Provincial Court last August charged with one count of assault.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one day in jail and one year probation.

He was back in court five days later, having breached the conditions of his probation.

Fonyo was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada on Nov. 22, 1985. At 18, he was the youngest person to receive the honour at the time.

His membership was terminated on Dec. 10, 2009.


awoo@vancouversun.com

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The Victoria Times Colonist


Letter


Restore Fonyo's spot in the Order of Canada


By Edward Taylor, Times Colonist January 30, 2010


I was saddened and upset to read that Steve Fonyo had been stripped of his membership in the Order of Canada because of some past misdeeds.

This young man performed a phenomenal feat of endurance when he ran across Canada over 20 years ago, in spite of his disability. We were all so proud of him at that time and his achievement in raising a large sum of money for a very worthy cause.

Steve is ill with an addiction to drugs and alcohol. He deserves our help and support rather than our censure.

Those who took away his membership should recognize his achievements and his problems and restore his name to the ranks of the order right away. In this, our Olympic year, we should be prepared to recognize real courage and ability.

Edward Taylor

Pender Island

© Copyright © The Victoria Times Colonist

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The Calgary Sun

Letters to the Editor: callet@calgarysun.com


Letter

Fonyo needs help


Have you wondered why Canada doesn’t have heroes and other countries do? Now we know. Steve Fonyo is a Canadian hero. He ran across Canada with a prosthetic leg, collecting millions for cancer research. You can’t take that away from him. He was granted the Order of Canada. Now, because of something he did which has nothing to do with his heroic deed, the government leaves him in disgrace. Why not put out a hand to a hero and offer him rehab or retraining? Some people have trouble just getting through life. Fonyo put his “best foot forward” and did something out of his realm. Let him remain a hero. We have so few of them.

Sheila Musselman

(Let’s hope he can resolve his issues.)

[medpot]

Chilliwack Times


Letter

Fonyo's should keep his Order



The Times
Published: Tuesday, February 02, 2010


Editor:

I just read an opinion on Steve Fonyo and I agree that he should retain his Order of Canada because it was given to him for what he did years ago and that is Steve's legacy.

It does not matter what someone does with their life in later years. Is the government going to strip all the MPs and MLAs of their pensions because they got drunk driving convictions?

Oh, it just hit me, Gordon Campbell, our B.C. Premier, did the same thing as Steve Fonyo and many others--he got drunk and made some possible harmful decisions like driving while impaired. How come Premier Campbell is still front and centre at the Olympics?

I want a petition to force the people or person [whoever decided and had the power to take Steve Fonyo's Order of Canada away] be removed from that position after they are also forced to give it back to Fonyo.

No one in Canada under our Charter and Rights of Freedom has the right to manipulate or dictate how we live our lives in Canada.

By taking Fonyo's Order of Canada away it has just shown how small-minded and petty and dictating someone or some people are and they have no right to hold any position of power or control over the people in Canada.

Fonyo earned his Order of Canada under extreme physical hardship that few people in this world would or even could do and as far as I am concerned, as a born-in- Canada citizen he will always hold that title no matter who says he is stripped of it.

It does not matter to me what he does now or how many times he makes some emotional choices that land him in jail, you cannot take away what he did when he was young and full of hope and desire.

Gord Currie,

Chilliwack




© Chilliwack Times 2010

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The Calgary Sun

Letters to the Editor: callet@calgarysun.com

Letter

Monday, February 8, 2010


Fonyo no hero


Man, oh, man, talk about drivel! I read the letters from Dorn Andersen and Sheila Musselman concerning “little Steve Fonyo,” the poor guy, and how he’s a “hero” to all Canadians. The only people this guy’s a hero to are his drug dealer, his bartender and his defence attorney! If Sheila wants to see a few thousand Canadian heroes, she should take a walk down to the Cenotaph, where she will find their names written in stone. Not on arrest warrants or court documents! Let’s hope he gets all the rehab and retraining he needs, at Dorn and Sheila’s expense. Not mine.

Jay Cross

(Let’s hope Fonyo can turn his life around.)

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Parksville Qualicum News

Letter to Editor

Letter

I feel very strongly that had Steve Fonyo received ...


Published: February 08, 2010 4:00 PM
Updated: February 08, 2010 5:14 PM


I feel very strongly that had Steve Fonyo received the accolades he truly deserved for completing a grueling, life threatening 8,000 km run across Canada, perhaps his life would have taken a different route.

Steve was never touted as a hero in the media or applauded by the majority of the public. He raised millions for cancer research.

To strip Steve of his Order of Canada is unconscionable.

Steve has paid his debt to society, was punished in a court of law and now we as Canadians punish him further. Shame on us!

Joni Shuttleworth

Qualicum Beach

Fonyo move was a shame

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BCLocalNews



Defending Fonyo


Published: February 16, 2010 3:00 PM
Updated: February 16, 2010 3:39 PM


Editor: Steve Fonyo should have carried the 2010 Winter Olympics torch, but instead he was stripped of his Order of Canada.

He generated $13 million for cancer research, but I guess he could have done better than that. His personal life should not go unnoticed. After all, do British Columbians smoke marijuana? Never..

Fonyo does not drive a Hummer or take steroids, nor is he a Hollywood movie star. But Arnold Schwarzenegger carried the torch. What does he have to do with the 2010 Winter Olympics?

Think what you want about Fonyo. He will always be a Canadian idol. After all, we all make mistakes.

Jim Hattie,

Langley