EDUCATION HERO: JOE BISHARAI

They Keep Remembrance Alive
Teacher Joe Bishara leads a group of more than 50 students—all holding flags and wearing identical red-and-white T-shirts—out through the doors of Maple Grove Education Centre in Hebron, N.S. It’s a sunny September afternoon, and with a bit of guidance from Bishara, they line the road to the school in an informal Honour Guard, waiting to greet the arrival of Second World War veteran Ralph McSweeney.

COMMUNITY HERO: RUTH KLEINBUB

The Patient Field Naturalist
On a bright, boreal morning, Ruth Kleinbub wanders along the edge of Clearwater River, a green fleece tied around her waist. She has long, wild, greying hair and the glow of a wom-an who spends her life outdoors. She points to a fishing hole loaded with pickerel, then to a pool safe from the current, where her kids learned to swim. Standing in this spot, as geese pass overhead, dispels everything you think you know about big, out-of-control Fort McMurray, Alta.

PUBLIC LIFE HERO: PITA AATAMI

Tireless Fighter for His People
In his Montreal office, Pita Aatami shows me the ivory polar bear head he wears on a black, leather shoelace around his neck. He carved it from a walrus tusk, but, he says ruefully, “I stopped carving when I became president.” He played hockey, too, “but I don’t have time anymore.”

HEALTH HERO: SUSAN MCLELLAN

In the Name of the Son
When the oncologist told Susan McLellan of Chatham-Kent her almost-13-year-old son, Myles, had eight to ten days to live, she screamed. Lying in a hospital bed a few rooms down, Myles heard her howl of despair. “What happened?” he asked when she came back. He studied her face. “I’m going to die, ain’t I?” he said.

RESCUE HEROES: MIKE LANDRY, ANDY HILDERMAN, MARK BARNARD

Courage Under Fire
It was 1:30 in the morning on July 23, 2007, as Mark Barnard drove his new Chrysler 300 northbound on Highway 97 in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Beside him, Andy Hil- derman had just dozed off, and in the back seat, Mike Landry was in a deep sleep. Suddenly, Barnard’s view was punctuated by flames. A car in a ditch on the southbound side of the road was on fire.