OTTAWA - Hollywood film director Arthur Hiller, anti-smoking crusader Garfield Mahood and social activist Craig Kielburger were among the new names announced Tuesday as the newest officers or members of the Order of Canada.
Hiller, born in Edmonton in 1923, directed more than 20 well-known big-screen staples, including 1970's "Love Story'' and "Man of La Mancha'' in 1972. His other films include the 1976 buddy comedy ''Silver Streak'' and the 1982 film "Author! Author!''
Kielburger, the founder of the lobby group Free the Children, was just 12 when he became an unlikely champion of child rights after learning of the murder of Iqbal Masih, a child slave from Pakistan whose own efforts to defend the rights of child labourers cost him his life.
Mahood, the longtime executive director of the Non-Smokers' Rights Association, was named an officer of the order for his work in health advocacy.
Tuesday's announcement included three companions, 29 officers and 57 members of the order. The appointments have been in effect since October 2006.
Ben Weider, a Montrealer who founded and runs the physical fitness and sporting goods empire bearing his name, was among those promoted to the rank of officer.
Weider, practically a household name to a generation of baby-boomers, was a driving force behind the legitimization of bodybuilding as a sport and co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders with brother Joe. He was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 1975.
Credited in some circles with discovering a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, Weider was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec and he received the French Legion of Honour in 2000.
Elsewhere among the 89 names cited in the Governor General's announcement were television personality Valerie Pringle and beer magnate and philanthropist Eric Molson, both named members of the order. Journalist, author and educator Peter Desbarats was also named an officer of the order.
Ron Southern, founding president and CEO of the Alberta Trailer Corp., or ATCO, was promoted to companion of the order, its highest rank.
