Lewis MacKenzie
Encyclopedia
Major-General Lewis Wharton MacKenzie, UE, CM
, CMM
, MSC
, O.Ont
, CD
(born April 30, 1940) is a retired Canadian
general
, author
and media commentator. MacKenzie is most famous for establishing and commanding Sector Sarajevo
as part of the United Nations Protection Force UNPROFOR in Yugoslavia
in 1992. He was later a vocal opponent of the Kosovo War
.
the son of Eugene MacKenzie and Shirley nee Wharton and raised in nearby Princeport
. He is named after his great uncle, Liverpool, Nova Scotia
schooner captain Lewis Wharton. MacKenzie's forefather Israel Wharton fought as a United Empire Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War
, taking part in the Battle of Waxhaws. Israel subsequently settled in the Liverpool area.
and was commissioned in 1960. During his Canadian army career, MacKenzie served nine years in West Germany with NATO forces and had nine peacekeeping tours of duty with the United Nations in six different mission areas - the Gaza Strip (1963 and 1964), Cyprus (1965,1971 and 1978), Vietnam, Egypt, Central America (1990–91, commanding the United Nations Observer Mission) and the former Yugoslavia (1992–1993).
Between peacekeeping missions MacKenzie served as an instructor at the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College (1979–82) and as director of army training at St. Hubert, Que. (1983–85). As commander of the Canadian Forces Base in Gagetown, N.B. (1988–90) he was responsible for training officers at the Combat Training Centre. In 1985 he was appointed director of Combat-Related Employment for Women and in 1991 he was appointed deputy commander of the Canadian Army’s Land Forces Central Area.
Following his return from the Balkans in October 1992 MacKenzie was appointed commander of the army in Ontario. He retired from the Canadian Forces
in 1993, after a 35 year career.
He was the first Canadian, military or civilian, to be awarded a second Meritorious Service Cross
. The second was Brigadier-General Guy Laroche
in October 2010.
after Canadian Forces in Somalia committed human rights abuses and breaches of international humanitarian law and members of the Canadian command were found to have engaged in a subsequent cover-up.
The Commission observed that MacKenzie testified in an honest and straightforward manner; it did not always accept everything that he said but accepted that he offered the truth as he saw it. It found that his superiors' desire to parade his successes as a bona fide hero of the Canadian Forces had impaired his ability to supervise and control matters that were his core responsibilities.
The Commission found that MacKenzie had failed adequately to investigate the significant leadership and discipline problems in the Canadian Airborne Regiment, to inform himself of the problems and to take decisive remedial steps to ensure they were adequately resolved.
He did not adequately monitor the Regiment's training to ensure its development as a cohesive unit or make adequate provisions for the troops to be trained or tested on its newly developed Rules of Engagement. He failed to direct and supervise the training of the Canadian Joint Force Somalia personnel in the Law of Armed Conflict for peace support operations.
MacKenzie had important obligations as a commander and so bore responsibility for the failures that attached to the discharge of those obligations. His role was pivotal and despite the fact that he was necessarily absent from his post due to obligations condoned by his superiors, errors in the chain of command below him remained his responsibility and flowed upwards from him to the highest levels of the command structure.
. The force headquarters were located in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. In April 1992 the Bosnian war
broke out. MacKenzie created and assumed command of the peacekeeping force's Sector Sarajevo in May 1992. He used his UN force to open Sarajevo Airport for the delivery of humanitarian aid. Using the media as a means of trying to help restore peace MacKenzie became an international celebrity.
MacKenzie returned from the Balkans in October 1992 in controversial circumstances. As a member of the Canadian armed forces he was precluded from commenting on government policy. After criticising the United Nations’ inability to command, control, and support its peacekeeping forces, he retired from the military in March 1993.
He has since written and lectured on his experiences in the former Yugoslavia. He has expressed controversial views on the Srebrenica genocide, an event that fell outside his period of service in the area. He has challenged the findings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) and most notably contested the conclusions and reasoning of the Appeal Chamber's 2004 judgment in the Krstić case that the crime of genocide was perpetrated at Srebrenica in July 1995:
He has also disputed that Srebrenica ever was an UN Safe area, and argued that the demilitarization requirements imposed on both the Serb side (surrounding Srebrenica) and the Bosniak side (inside the enclave) were never fulfilled:
The 2000 book The Lion, the Fox, and the Eagle
by Carol Off
, which devotes a third of its content to MacKenzie's role in Yugoslavia, claims that MacKenzie was willfully ignorant of the Bosnian political situation and was manipulated into being a vehicle of pro-Serb propaganda. In 1993, investigative reporter and Pulitzer prize
winning journalist Roy Gutman
accused Mackenzie of receiving funds from "SerbNet", a Serbian-American lobbyist group. In response MacKenzie said he had done nothing unethical or improper, although UN officials criticised his "lack of judgment" in the matter.
, MacKenzie was Progressive Conservative
candidate for Parliament
for the central Ontario
riding
of Parry Sound—Muskoka
. Tory
leader Jean Charest
suggested that if their party won power, MacKenzie would become Deputy Prime Minister. The Tories improved their standing and regained official party status, though MacKenzie finished second to Liberal
incumbent Andy Mitchell.
In 2005, following the appointment of former Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire
as a Liberal
senator, MacKenzie wrote an editorial in the Globe and Mail entitled "Roméo, Roméo, wherefore art thou partisan?" arguing that Dallaire had compromised his previous stance by endorsing the Liberal Party's position on intervention in Sudan.
MacKenzie raced with Rick Mercer on CBC
's The Mercer Report
in the January 20, 2009 episode which ended in a "tie". Mercer was driving a car with winter tires, while MacKenzie was driving a car with all-season radials, on an icy track.
On April 19, 2010, MacKenzie was interviewed on CTV's Powerplay in relation to accusations by Ahmadshah Malgarai, a translator, who witnessed interrogations in which a witness allegedly recounted that the Canadian military murdered a 17 year old Afghan. MacKenzie dismissed those accusations as "crap" and "insulting" to the Canadian military, while he viewed the denial by the Canadian military as credible. Amir Attaran, a law professor and lawyer for Malgarai disagreed with Mackenzie, arguing that instead of comparing credibility, the military must release the records of detainee interrogations to Parliament, so that Parliament may determine what occurred, based upon the available facts. According to Attaran, it is a legal requirement that the documents regarding detainee interrogations be produced, while they need not be made public. MacKenzie called it "ridiculous" and "ludicrous" to table such documents in Parliament and that, furthermore, he was "not concerned" about the legal requirement to do so. Near the end of the interview, MacKenzie verbally attacked Dr. Attaran: "Last time I checked, in various polls being done across Canada, the Canadian Forces are at the very top of trustworthiness with the Canadian population. I won't mention where lawyers were slated."
MacKenzie stars in two Canadian
documentary films by Serbian-Canadian film-maker Boris Malagurski
: Kosovo: Can You Imagine?
(2009) and The Weight of Chains
(2011). He also contributed to the Canadian documentary If I Should Fall, which focuses on the Canadian military experience in Afghanistan since 9/11.
, which recognizes a Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of our nation and the preservation of our democratic values.
In 2006, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, CMM
Order of Military Merit (Canada)
The Order of Military Merit is a military honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada...
, MSC
Meritorious Service Cross
The Meritorious Service Cross is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, generally through his or her viceroy-in-Council...
, O.Ont
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
, CD
Canadian Forces Decoration
The Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...
(born April 30, 1940) is a retired Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and media commentator. MacKenzie is most famous for establishing and commanding Sector Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
as part of the United Nations Protection Force UNPROFOR in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in 1992. He was later a vocal opponent of the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
.
Biography
MacKenzie was born in Truro, Nova ScotiaTruro, Nova Scotia
-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...
the son of Eugene MacKenzie and Shirley nee Wharton and raised in nearby Princeport
Princeport, Nova Scotia
Princeport is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Colchester County.-References:*...
. He is named after his great uncle, Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia...
schooner captain Lewis Wharton. MacKenzie's forefather Israel Wharton fought as a United Empire Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, taking part in the Battle of Waxhaws. Israel subsequently settled in the Liverpool area.
Military career
MacKenzie enlisted with The Queen's Own Rifles of CanadaThe Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a militia regiment within the Canadian Forces, based in Toronto, Ontario. The regiment is part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only Primary Reserve regiment in Canada to have a parachute role. The regiment consists of the reserve...
and was commissioned in 1960. During his Canadian army career, MacKenzie served nine years in West Germany with NATO forces and had nine peacekeeping tours of duty with the United Nations in six different mission areas - the Gaza Strip (1963 and 1964), Cyprus (1965,1971 and 1978), Vietnam, Egypt, Central America (1990–91, commanding the United Nations Observer Mission) and the former Yugoslavia (1992–1993).
Between peacekeeping missions MacKenzie served as an instructor at the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College (1979–82) and as director of army training at St. Hubert, Que. (1983–85). As commander of the Canadian Forces Base in Gagetown, N.B. (1988–90) he was responsible for training officers at the Combat Training Centre. In 1985 he was appointed director of Combat-Related Employment for Women and in 1991 he was appointed deputy commander of the Canadian Army’s Land Forces Central Area.
Following his return from the Balkans in October 1992 MacKenzie was appointed commander of the army in Ontario. He retired from the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
in 1993, after a 35 year career.
He was the first Canadian, military or civilian, to be awarded a second Meritorious Service Cross
Meritorious Service Cross
The Meritorious Service Cross is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, generally through his or her viceroy-in-Council...
. The second was Brigadier-General Guy Laroche
Guy Laroche (Brigadier General)
J.R.M.G. Laroche is a Brigadier-General in the Canadian Forces.Laroche enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 1979. By 1980 he had completed his training as an infantry officer and was posted to the Royal 22e Régiment at CFB Valcartier, near Quebec City...
in October 2010.
Somalia
Lewis MacKenzie was criticised by the Somalia Commission of Inquiry for his contribution to the Somalia AffairSomalia Affair
The Somalia Affair was a 1993 military scandal later dubbed "Canada's national shame". It peaked with the brutal beating death of a Somali teenager at the hands of two Canadian soldiers participating in humanitarian efforts in Somalia. The crime, documented by grisly photos, shocked the Canadian...
after Canadian Forces in Somalia committed human rights abuses and breaches of international humanitarian law and members of the Canadian command were found to have engaged in a subsequent cover-up.
The Commission observed that MacKenzie testified in an honest and straightforward manner; it did not always accept everything that he said but accepted that he offered the truth as he saw it. It found that his superiors' desire to parade his successes as a bona fide hero of the Canadian Forces had impaired his ability to supervise and control matters that were his core responsibilities.
The Commission found that MacKenzie had failed adequately to investigate the significant leadership and discipline problems in the Canadian Airborne Regiment, to inform himself of the problems and to take decisive remedial steps to ensure they were adequately resolved.
He did not adequately monitor the Regiment's training to ensure its development as a cohesive unit or make adequate provisions for the troops to be trained or tested on its newly developed Rules of Engagement. He failed to direct and supervise the training of the Canadian Joint Force Somalia personnel in the Law of Armed Conflict for peace support operations.
MacKenzie had important obligations as a commander and so bore responsibility for the failures that attached to the discharge of those obligations. His role was pivotal and despite the fact that he was necessarily absent from his post due to obligations condoned by his superiors, errors in the chain of command below him remained his responsibility and flowed upwards from him to the highest levels of the command structure.
Former Yugoslavia
In February 1992 MacKenzie was named chief of staff of the United Nations peacekeeping force in former Yugoslavia, tasked with supervising the cease-fire in CroatiaCroatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The force headquarters were located in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. In April 1992 the Bosnian war
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
broke out. MacKenzie created and assumed command of the peacekeeping force's Sector Sarajevo in May 1992. He used his UN force to open Sarajevo Airport for the delivery of humanitarian aid. Using the media as a means of trying to help restore peace MacKenzie became an international celebrity.
MacKenzie returned from the Balkans in October 1992 in controversial circumstances. As a member of the Canadian armed forces he was precluded from commenting on government policy. After criticising the United Nations’ inability to command, control, and support its peacekeeping forces, he retired from the military in March 1993.
He has since written and lectured on his experiences in the former Yugoslavia. He has expressed controversial views on the Srebrenica genocide, an event that fell outside his period of service in the area. He has challenged the findings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
(ICTY) and most notably contested the conclusions and reasoning of the Appeal Chamber's 2004 judgment in the Krstić case that the crime of genocide was perpetrated at Srebrenica in July 1995:
- Evidence given at The Hague war crimes tribunal casts serious doubt on the figure of "up to" 8,000 Bosnian Muslims massacred. That figure includes "up to" 5,000 who have been classified as missing. More than 2,000 bodies have been recovered in and around Srebrenica, and they include victims of the three years of intense fighting in the area. The math just doesn't support the scale of 8,000 killed.
- ...
- It's a distasteful point, but it has to be said that, if you're committing genocide, you don't let the women go since they are key to perpetuating the very group you are trying to eliminate. Many of the men and boys were executed and buried in mass graves.
He has also disputed that Srebrenica ever was an UN Safe area, and argued that the demilitarization requirements imposed on both the Serb side (surrounding Srebrenica) and the Bosniak side (inside the enclave) were never fulfilled:
- It didn't take long for the Bosnian Muslims to realize that the UN was in no position to live up to its promise to "protect" Srebrenica. With some help from outsiders, they began to infiltrate thousands of fighters and weapons into the safe haven. As the Bosnian Muslim fighters became better equipped and trained, they started to venture outside Srebrenica, burning Serb villages and killing their occupants before quickly withdrawing to the security provided by the UN's safe haven. These attacks reached a crescendo in 1994 and carried on into early 1995 after the Canadian infantry company that had been there for a year was replaced by a larger Dutch contingent.
The 2000 book The Lion, the Fox, and the Eagle
The Lion, the Fox, and the Eagle
The Lion, the Fox & the Eagle: A Story of Generals and Justice in Rwanda and Yugoslavia is a non-fiction book by Canadian journalist Carol Off. The hardcover edition was published in November 2000 by Random House Canada. The writing was favourably received and the book was short-listed for the...
by Carol Off
Carol Off
Carol Off is a Canadian television and radio journalist, associated with CBC Television and CBC Radio. She has been a host of CBC Radio's As It Happens since 2006. Previously a documentary reporter for The National, Off also hosted the political debate series counterSpin on CBC Newsworld.She is the...
, which devotes a third of its content to MacKenzie's role in Yugoslavia, claims that MacKenzie was willfully ignorant of the Bosnian political situation and was manipulated into being a vehicle of pro-Serb propaganda. In 1993, investigative reporter and Pulitzer prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning journalist Roy Gutman
Roy Gutman
Roy Gutman is an American journalist and author.In 1966, Gutman graduated from Haverford College with a major in History. In 1968, Gutman graduated from the London School of Economics with a masters degree in International Relations.Roy Gutman joined Newsday in January 1982 and served for eight...
accused Mackenzie of receiving funds from "SerbNet", a Serbian-American lobbyist group. In response MacKenzie said he had done nothing unethical or improper, although UN officials criticised his "lack of judgment" in the matter.
Retirement activities
MacKenzie is reportedly a lifelong automobile racing enthusiast. According to an article in the September 23, 2007 Victoria Times Colonist, he is an enthusiastic, skilled, and competitive race car driver having won the 2007 Diamond Class Ontario championship for Formula Fords at the age of 67 .Politics
In the 1997 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
, MacKenzie was Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
candidate for Parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
for the central Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Parry Sound—Muskoka
Parry Sound—Muskoka
Parry Sound—Muskoka is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949....
. Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
leader Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
suggested that if their party won power, MacKenzie would become Deputy Prime Minister. The Tories improved their standing and regained official party status, though MacKenzie finished second to Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
incumbent Andy Mitchell.
Media
MacKenzie is frequently sought by Canadian broadcast media as a security and military affairs commentator.In 2005, following the appointment of former Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire
Roméo Dallaire
Lieutenant-General Roméo Antonius Dallaire, is a Canadian senator, humanitarian, author and retired general...
as a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
senator, MacKenzie wrote an editorial in the Globe and Mail entitled "Roméo, Roméo, wherefore art thou partisan?" arguing that Dallaire had compromised his previous stance by endorsing the Liberal Party's position on intervention in Sudan.
MacKenzie raced with Rick Mercer on CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
's The Mercer Report
Rick Mercer Report
Rick Mercer Report is a Canadian television comedy series which airs on CBC Television...
in the January 20, 2009 episode which ended in a "tie". Mercer was driving a car with winter tires, while MacKenzie was driving a car with all-season radials, on an icy track.
On April 19, 2010, MacKenzie was interviewed on CTV's Powerplay in relation to accusations by Ahmadshah Malgarai, a translator, who witnessed interrogations in which a witness allegedly recounted that the Canadian military murdered a 17 year old Afghan. MacKenzie dismissed those accusations as "crap" and "insulting" to the Canadian military, while he viewed the denial by the Canadian military as credible. Amir Attaran, a law professor and lawyer for Malgarai disagreed with Mackenzie, arguing that instead of comparing credibility, the military must release the records of detainee interrogations to Parliament, so that Parliament may determine what occurred, based upon the available facts. According to Attaran, it is a legal requirement that the documents regarding detainee interrogations be produced, while they need not be made public. MacKenzie called it "ridiculous" and "ludicrous" to table such documents in Parliament and that, furthermore, he was "not concerned" about the legal requirement to do so. Near the end of the interview, MacKenzie verbally attacked Dr. Attaran: "Last time I checked, in various polls being done across Canada, the Canadian Forces are at the very top of trustworthiness with the Canadian population. I won't mention where lawyers were slated."
MacKenzie stars in two Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
documentary films by Serbian-Canadian film-maker Boris Malagurski
Boris Malagurski
Boris Malagurski is a Serbian-Canadian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is the owner of the Malagurski Cinema production company, based in Vancouver, Canada.-Life and work:Born to Prof. Dr. Sc...
: Kosovo: Can You Imagine?
Kosovo: Can You Imagine?
Canadian journalist and military expert Scott Taylor said the following about the film:Former Canadian diplomat and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Yugoslavia, James Byron Bissett stated this about the film:...
(2009) and The Weight of Chains
The Weight of Chains
The Weight of Chains is a 2010 Canadian documentary film directed by Boris Malagurski which analyzes the role that the United States, NATO and the EU played in the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was released on December 17, 2010.-Production:...
(2011). He also contributed to the Canadian documentary If I Should Fall, which focuses on the Canadian military experience in Afghanistan since 9/11.
Writing
MacKenzie is the author of two books:- Peacekeeper: Road to Sarajevo
- Soldiers Made Me Look Good: A Life in the Shadow of War
Honours
MacKenzie is a recipient of the Vimy AwardVimy Award
The Vimy Award is an award presented by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute to the “Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of and the preservation of democratic values". The award has been presented annually since 1991...
, which recognizes a Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of our nation and the preservation of our democratic values.
In 2006, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.