Advocate
Seizing The Moment For Healthier Neighbourhoods
For much of the previous century, the concept of the ideal life included a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and a well-manicured lawn. Never mind that many of the chemicals needed to "beat back" nature were manifestly unhealthy.
In the 21st century the concept of the ideal life has moved considerably beyond Madison Avenue's version. Aiding this transition are groups intent on benefiting communities by providing more sustainable options. The Organic Landscape Alliance has been active in facilitating healthier Ontario communities.
Mark MacKenzie has been a driving force with the OLA. Mark provided leadership during a crucial time period by serving as its President from 2004-2008. His shining achievement while holding this position was the enactment of Bill 64, a piece of legislation approved in the Ontario Provincial Parliament that effectively banned cosmetic pesticide use in the province.
Mark's tenure as President of the organization may be characterized as one of frenetic activity matched with tangible results. He was able to help attain consensus among elected and appointed officials alike, all the while keeping his eye on the larger picture of freeing Ontario of damaging lawn chemicals.
A primary aim of the OLA is to dispel the myth that chemicals are required for effective lawn care. Nourishing the soil is of paramount importance in organic lawn care. Lawns consist of many living organisms that enable them to flourish. The application of industrial cosmetic chemicals actually serves to militate against a healthy lawn, and by extension, healthy neighbourhoods.
As he has done so often in other aspects of his life, Mark MacKenzie has seized the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of Ontarians through his meaningful contributions to the Organic Landscape Alliance.
The Unspoken Epidemic
It is a sad reality of our modern age that we seemingly practice avoidance of issues that are deleterious to our health. Few people are untouched by the reach of cancer yet we inevitably revert to after-the-fact treatment as the sole means of delivering health care. One group dedicated to offering more proactive approaches is Prevent Cancer Now.
Their approaches mesh with Mark MacKenzie's philosophical and practical view of problem solving: namely that it is better to act in advance of looming problems and crisis than merely responding to previously foreseen and predicted afflictions. Mark is the current treasurer of Prevent Cancer Now and believes that we cannot stand by while so many of our fellow citizens head down the nightmarish path of cancer.
Implicit in the title of the organization is a yearning to act now. The object is to create a broad-based national movement of people who are capable of educating others, enacting appropriate legislation, and bringing about the type of policy changes needed to eradicate cancer as the serious societal issue it is.
As taken from their website, the group's goals are:
- To create a broadly based national movement for cancer prevention and environmental health promotion.
- To promote the use of the precautionary principle.
- To promote improved regulations and policies that protect the public's health and the health of workers exposed to carcinogens on the job.
- To eradicate environmental and workplace exposures to carcinogens and other health hazards
- To educate the public on actions that individuals, communities, businesses, and governments can take to reduce or eliminate cancer-causing exposures.
The Roman Emperor Nero was accorded an infamous designation of having fiddled while Rome burned. It is Mark's ardent desire that our generation not suffer a similar fate vis-à-vis cancer. Almost 74,000 Canadians died of cancer last year alone. Despite this highly alarming reality public discourse mostly revolves around treatment as opposed to concrete preventative measures
It is this drive for truth, in combination with a caring orientation and a recognition of viable alternatives that distinguishes Mark Mackenzie's successful association with Prevent Cancer Now.
