An investigative journalist who authored books that tackled topics ranging from a prime minister含羞草研究社檚 involvement in jet purchases to the murders of women on a British Columbia pig farm has died.
Stevie Cameron died Saturday at home in Toronto from Parkinson含羞草研究社檚, her daughter Amy Cameron said, noting her mother also had dementia.
She was 80.
Among Cameron含羞草研究社檚 best-known works is an investigation she did into then-prime minister Brian Mulroney含羞草研究社檚 involvement in the purchase of new Airbus jets.
Cameron was accused of being an informant for the RCMP when they launched their own investigation 含羞草研究社� a characterization which was later called into question and which she strongly denied.
Amy Cameron said her mother believed in speaking truth to power but power sometimes fought back, and the accusation that she was a police informant was particularly hard.
含羞草研究社淚t was an incredibly difficult position for her to be in because how do you defend yourself when you含羞草研究社檝e spent a lifetime trying to keep yourself out of the story? And she truly was not a part of the story and yet had been painted in that way,含羞草研究社� Cameron said in an interview Sunday.
含羞草研究社淪he knew that when people reacted in that way and when power reacted that way, that she had touched a nerve and she felt, on balance, that it was important to tell that story.含羞草研究社�
Cameron含羞草研究社檚 credentials also include two books on serial killer Robert Pickton, a stint as host of CBC含羞草研究社檚 含羞草研究社淭he Fifth Estate含羞草研究社� in the early 1990s, and working as a contributing editor of Maclean含羞草研究社檚, from 1993 to 2001, among other things.
She was also a co-founder of Out of the Cold, a volunteer program at St. Andrew含羞草研究社檚 Church in Toronto, that provides food and clothing to the homeless.
Cameron was recognized for that volunteer work, as well as her journalism, when she was awarded the Order of Canada in 2012.
含羞草研究社淪tevie Cameron is one of Canada含羞草研究社檚 foremost investigative journalists and a committed volunteer. For decades, her award-winning books and investigative reports have exposed wrongdoing and uncovered buried truths,含羞草研究社� a bio of her on the Governor General含羞草研究社檚 website notes.
Born in Belleville, Ont., Cameron含羞草研究社檚 career in journalism began as a food, travel and lifestyles reporter for newspapers in Toronto and Ottawa in the 1970s. Her resume lists a certificate from Le Cordon Bleu academy in Paris from the early 1970s.
But she had an interest in crime and politics, her daughter said, and she began writing in those areas after pitching ideas to an editor.
Author and journalist Jan Wong, who remembered Cameron inviting Wong, her husband and her mother-in-law to Christmas dinner when she was new to Toronto in the 1980s, said Cameron含羞草研究社檚 experience as a chef and lifestyles reporter led to some big stories.
含羞草研究社淪he had gotten many of her scoops in Ottawa about politicians because she knew all the decorators and designers and the food people,含羞草研究社� Wong recalled.
Wong said when Cameron was accused of collaborating with the RCMP, she depleted her own savings to pay for a lawyer and fellow journalists held a fundraiser to help her out.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 a huge loss for Canadian journalism because she was one of the most skilled investigative reporters,含羞草研究社� Wong said of Cameron含羞草研究社檚 death.
Amy Cameron said she remembers her mother being meticulous with making sure she had the evidence to back up the claims in her work, adding she did her best to keep the families of the people she was writing about out of the story.
含羞草研究社淪he didn含羞草研究社檛 want to harm unnecessarily or dig into the lives of people who hadn含羞草研究社檛 chosen to live a public life or who hadn含羞草研究社檛 caused harm towards other people,含羞草研究社� she said.
Cameron is survived by two daughters, and her husband David Cameron.
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