Cortlandt John Gordon Mackenzie (1920-2013)
Dr "Cort" Cortlandt John Gordon Mackenzie, M.D., of Vancouver, British Columbia
He was born in Toronto, the only son of his parents. He was educated at Upper Canada College and Queen's University. During World War II, he served first as a Captain in the army and then transferred to the navy where he captained a corvette. In 1945, he married Jean, daughter of Canadian fighter pilot ace Billy Barker V.C., who still holds the distinction of being the most decorated war hero in the British Empire.
They left Toronto for British Columbia where Mackenzie established a private practice and is remembered as a liberal-minded and forward-thinking doctor. He pioneered immunization programs, treated tuberculosis and helped combat rickets in the native community by providing vitamin D and splints for children with malformed bones. But he is best remembered for advocating the use of birth control long before it was made legal in 1969. He was the logical choice for President of the Family Planning Association of B.C. and from 1970 to 1974 was director and vice-president of the Family Planning Federation of Canada. He was Chairman of the Pollution Control Board of B.C.; Chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the use of Pesticides; and, in 1989 as Professor Emeritus, warned the government of the Northwest Territories of possible health problems with the proposed Kiggavik Uranium mine in what is now Nunavut. In 1986, he received the R.D. Defries Award, the Canadian Health Association's highest honour.
He retired to Vancouver and giving up polo he took up scuba diving and founded the Marine Environment Protection Society. Mackenzie was survived by three sons.
They left Toronto for British Columbia where Mackenzie established a private practice and is remembered as a liberal-minded and forward-thinking doctor. He pioneered immunization programs, treated tuberculosis and helped combat rickets in the native community by providing vitamin D and splints for children with malformed bones. But he is best remembered for advocating the use of birth control long before it was made legal in 1969. He was the logical choice for President of the Family Planning Association of B.C. and from 1970 to 1974 was director and vice-president of the Family Planning Federation of Canada. He was Chairman of the Pollution Control Board of B.C.; Chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the use of Pesticides; and, in 1989 as Professor Emeritus, warned the government of the Northwest Territories of possible health problems with the proposed Kiggavik Uranium mine in what is now Nunavut. In 1986, he received the R.D. Defries Award, the Canadian Health Association's highest honour.
He retired to Vancouver and giving up polo he took up scuba diving and founded the Marine Environment Protection Society. Mackenzie was survived by three sons.