Order of Canada nominees from Waterloo region, Guelph reflect on their appointments

On Dec. 29, 135 people were appointed to the Order of Canada, for recognition of their innovations and contributions to the betterment of Canadian society.

Novelist Yann Martel and former senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Murray Sinclair were among those appointed as were two people from Guelph and two from Waterloo region.

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition spoke with each nominee to hear more about their work and what the nomination means to them.

Alejandro G. Marangoni is from Guelph and is a professor and the Canada Research Chair Food, Health and Aging at the University of Guelph. He was recognized for his contributions to organic chemistry and his work studying trans fats in foods, to find ways to find more sustainable and healthier substitutes.

"The little choices we make every day with our food have huge effects, but those ones have to be like palatable and digestible and fun to eat as well," Marangoni said.

Listen to his interview:

Eric Ross Macdonald (Rick) Haldenby is from Kitchener and is a professor at the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture. 

He was nominated for his contributions to the advancement of architectural education in Canada and for his efforts to preserve industrial and mid-century buildings. He is known to the local community as a heritage advocate and wants to see Kitchener grow into a livable and people-oriented city.

"I was driven from the beginning, and I must say even from my childhood, by a love of architecture, construction, cities and culture, and I find that just the most inspiring set of motivations," Haldenby said. 

"When the University of Waterloo gave me the chance to teach, I [was] really just motivated by sharing my passion for architecture with students."

Listen to his interview:

Geoffrey T. Fong, from Waterloo and is a psychology professor at the University of Waterloo. He was recognized for his research into improved risk messaging and for his role in reducing global tobacco use as the founder and principal investigator of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (the ITC Project), the first-ever international cohort study of tobacco use.

"Tobacco smoking is the number one of preventable cause of death and disease in the world, which is not widely known these days, especially in Canada where smoking rates have gone down," Fong said.

Listen to his interview: