Stevie Cameron, , (, Stephanie Graham Dahl; born 11 October 1943) is a Canadian investigative journalist and author.
Early life and work
Stephanie "Stevie" Graham Dahl was born in Belleville, Ontario, to
Harold Edward Dahl, a mercenary American pilot who fought in the
Spanish Republican Air Force
The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939.
Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...
during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
.
She has an honours B.A. in English from the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
, and attended graduate school at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
, England, for three years.
Career
She worked for the
Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
in Ottawa in the 1960s, and taught English literature at
Trent University
Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes. .
After a year at
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu (French for " The Blue Ribbon") is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French ''haute cuisine''. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The instituti ...
Cooking School in Paris in 1975, she began working as a food writer and in 1977, became the food editor of the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
''. A year later, she moved to the ''
Ottawa Journal
The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980.
It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...
'' as Lifestyles editor. She later became the ''
Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
''
's Lifestyles and Travel editor. Four years later, she joined a new investigative journalism unit at the ''Citizen'' and also became a national political columnist.
Personal life
Cameron lives in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
with her husband, David Cameron, a professor at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. They have two daughters, who are both screenwriters.
Major works
In 1986, Cameron moved to Toronto as a national columnist and reporter for ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', and published her first book, in 1989, called ''Ottawa Inside Out''. In 1990 she became a host of the
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
public affairs program ''
The Fifth Estate'' but returned to the Globe in 1991 as a freelance columnist and feature writer.
Cameron, Brian Mulroney, and the Airbus Affair
Her second book, ''On the Take: Crime, Corruption and Greed in the Mulroney Years'', was published in 1994. The book raised questions about the ethics of former
Progressive Conservative Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
and his alleged involvement in secret commissions paid by
Karlheinz Schreiber
Karlheinz Schreiber (born 25 March 1934) is a German and Canadian citizen, an industrialist, lobbyist, fundraiser, arms dealer and businessman. He has been in the news regarding his alleged role in the 1999 CDU contributions scandal in Germany ...
to members of the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
, and to Conservative-linked
lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
s, in exchange for then-crown corporation
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
's purchase of 34
Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
jets. It was one of the first full-length works to dig into the
Airbus Affair The Airbus affair refers to allegations of secret commissions paid to members of the Government of Canada during the term of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (1984–93), in exchange for then- crown corporation Air Canada's purchase of a large number ...
in Canada. The book also documented several other corruption scandals during the period. In 1995, Cameron joined
Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
magazine as a contributor for investigative stories.
Cameron became the focus of a campaign by Brian Mulroney's defenders to discredit the allegations against him. In 2004, ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' turned the tables on its former investigative reporter by running a series of three articles by lawyer
William Kaplan
William Kaplan (born 24 May 1957) is a Canadians, Canadian lawyer and writer.
Biography
Born in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Kaplan is the son of Igor Kaplan and Cara Cherniak. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1980 with a Bachelor ...
, claiming that Cameron had worked as a confidential informant for the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
during its investigation of the Airbus Affair. Cameron vigorously denied the allegations, which, if true, would have compromised her credibility as a journalist. In his 2004 book ''A Secret Trial: Brian Mulroney, Stevie Cameron and the Public Trust'', Kaplan outlined evidence that illustrated the RCMP's perception of Cameron as a confidential RCMP informant. But in the spring of 2005 (in testimony in the Eurocopter trial, held in Toronto before Judge Edward Then), Chief Superintendent Al Matthews, the RCMP officer in charge of the Airbus investigation, recanted almost all of the allegations against Cameron contained in a search warrant that had been relied upon by Kaplan. Matthews admitted that Cameron had very few contacts with the RCMP, contradicting assertions he'd made in court that she had possessed several hundred. He also admitted that Cameron was telling the truth when she said any information she had shared with the RCMP was already in the public domain, and that the information she shared was of little help to their investigation.
On 14 February 2007, Cameron appeared before the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
Ethics Committee
An ethics committee is a body responsible for ensuring that medical experimentation and human subject research are carried out in an ethical manner in accordance with national and international law.
Specific regions
An ethics committee in the E ...
in their examination of the Mulroney Airbus Settlement. She confirmed that everything she knows on the subject had been documented in her books. Cameron also made a personal statement that she was not a police informant; any information she had given to the RCMP was already in the public domain at the time.
Cameron was
subpoena
A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
ed by the Oliphant Commission as a potential witness for the public inquiry called by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
in early 2008, under terms defined by
David Lloyd Johnston
David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commiss ...
. Ultimately, Cameron was not called as a witness when the inquiry, chaired by Justice Jeffrey Oliphant (former Associate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Manitoba) got going in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. Ultimately, it was conclusively demonstrated by the Oliphant Inquiry that Mulroney had received at least $225,000 from Schreiber, in three equal instalments, in cash, paid in thousand-dollar bills, shortly after leaving office in mid-1993. Two of these cash-transfer meetings took place in Montreal, while the third occurred at the luxury
Pierre Hotel
The Pierre is a luxury hotel located at 2 East 61st Street, at the intersection of that street with Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, New York City, facing Central Park. Designed by Schultze & Weaver, the hotel opened in 1930 with 100+ employees, n ...
in New York City. Mulroney had earlier denied any business dealings whatsoever with Schreiber, and had denied receiving any money from him, as a response to questions during his lawsuit testimony given in 1996 in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. Mulroney had delayed paying
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
on this money until several years after he received it.
Blue Trust, 1998
In 1998, she published her third book, ''Blue Trust'',. The book profiled the bizarre life and death of Bruce Verchere, a Montreal tax lawyer and partner in the national law firm
Bennett Jones LLP
Bennett Jones LLP is a law firm based in Canada.
Firm
Bennett Jones is a Canadian business law firm with 400 lawyers and business advisors.
The firm has five offices in Canada (Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa and Vancouver), and one in t ...
, who had served as private financial advisor to Mulroney, before committing
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
in late summer 1993. Verchere had left his wife, a very successful entrepreneur, for an affair with the much younger Diane Hailey, daughter of novelist
Arthur Hailey
Arthur Frederick Hailey, AE (5 April 1920 – 24 November 2004) was a British-Canadian novelist whose plot-driven storylines were set against the backdrops of various industries. His books, which include such best sellers as ''Hotel'' (1965), ...
, a Verchere client. Just before his suicide, Verchere had been appointed as chairman of
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is a Canadian federal Crown corporation and Canada's largest nuclear science and technology laboratory. AECL developed the CANDU reactor technology starting in the 1950s, and in October 2011 licensed thi ...
.
The following year, she founded ''Elm Street'', a national general-interest magazine, but continued to write investigative features for Maclean's. Three years later, she resigned from ''Elm Street'', continuing as a columnist, in order to research and write ''The Last Amigo'', with co-author Harvey Cashore; this 2001 book is a biography of Schreiber, along with a more detailed examination of the
Airbus Affair The Airbus affair refers to allegations of secret commissions paid to members of the Government of Canada during the term of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (1984–93), in exchange for then- crown corporation Air Canada's purchase of a large number ...
. It won a Crime Writers of Canada award as the Best True Crime Book of the Year.
Books on Robert Pickton
She began researching the
Robert Pickton
Robert William "Willy" Pickton (born October 24, 1949) is a Canadian serial killer and former pig farmer. He is suspected of being one of the most prolific serial killers in Canadian history.
After dropping out of school, Pickton left a butcher ...
murder case in British Columbia in 2002, and published her first book on the case, ''The Pickton File'', in 2007. Cameron has completed her second book about the Pickton case, ''On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver’s Missing Women'', which was published by
Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
in the summer of 2010 when a publication ban on the case was lifted after an appeal to
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
upheld the trial jury's guilty verdict. As well as documenting the botched police investigation that finally led to Pickton's arrest, the book contains important insights into why Pickton offered help to some of the woman he picked up as prostitutes, while brutally murdering others, and how he decided who he would kill. ''On the Farm'' was nominated for the 2011
Charles Taylor Prize
The RBC Taylor Prize (2000–2020), formerly known as the Charles Taylor Prize, is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction. It is named for Charles P. B. Taylor, a n ...
and won the 2011
Arthur Ellis Award
The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, are a group of Canadians, Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and Mystery fiction, mys ...
for best non-fiction crime book.
Other work
Cameron has also been a contributing editor to ''
Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
'' magazine, a monthly columnist and a contributor to the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', ''
The Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newsp ...
'', the
Southam News Service, ''
Saturday Night'' magazine, the ''
Financial Post
The ''Financial Post'' was an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the publication was folded into the new ''National Post'',"Black says Post to merge with new paper". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 23, ...
'', ''
Chatelaine
Chatelaine may refer to:
* Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc.
*Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse
* ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...
'', and ''
Canadian Living
''Canadian Living'' is a monthly Canadian lifestyle magazine, which publishes articles relating to food, fashion, crafts, and health and family advice.
History and profile
The magazine was created by Clem Compton-Smith and his business partner, ...
''.
Cameron has lectured on journalism schools across the country, and in 2008, she spent the fall term as Irving Chair in Media at
St. Thomas University's journalism school in
Fredericton
Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
.
In 2012, she was writing a history of
Kingston Penitentiary
Kingston Penitentiary (known locally as KP and Kingston Pen) is a former maximum security prison located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, between King Street West and Lake Ontario.
History
Constructed from 1833 to 1834, and opened on June 1, 1 ...
.
Humanitarian work
Cameron serves on the board of Second Harvest in Toronto as well as on the board of Portland Place, an assisted housing project for homeless and underhoused people. In 1991 she helped found an Out of the Cold program for the homeless at her church, St. Andrew's, in downtown Toronto, and has worked with many churches across Canada to set up similar programs. In 2004, she received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from the Vancouver School of Theology, in part for her work with the homeless.
In recognition of more than two-decades of humanitarian work and social activism, Cameron was awarded the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
in December 2012. Her citation reads: "For her achievements in investigative journalism and for her volunteer work on behalf of the disadvantaged."
Bibliography
Non-fiction
* ''Ottawa Inside Out'' (1989)
* ''On the Take: Crime, Corruption and Greed in the Mulroney Years'' (1994)
* ''Blue Trust: The Author, the Lawyer, His Wife and Her Money'' (1998)
* ''The Last Amigo: Karlheinz Schreiber and the Anatomy of a Scandal'' (2001) (with Harvey Cashore).
* ''The Pickton File'' (2007) Knopf Canada.
* ''On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women'' (2010)
Awards
* 2011 Arthur Ellis Award for ''On The Farm'', Best Crime Non-Fiction Book of the Year
* 2008 Irving Chair in Media, St. Thomas University, September–November 2008
* 2004 Honorary Doctorate of Divinity and convocation speaker, Vancouver School of Theology at UBC, for journalism and work with the homeless, Vancouver (3 May 2004)
* 2003 Honorary Diploma & Commencement speaker, Loyalist College of Applied Arts and Technology, Belleville, June 2003, for journalism and community work
* 2003 City of Toronto Community Service Award for work with the homeless
* 2002 Arthur Ellis Award (Crime Writers' of Canada) for ''The Last Amigo'', Best Crime Non-Fiction Book of the Year (with Harvey Cashore)
* 1998 Business Book of the Year Merit Award for ''Blue Trust''
* 1998 Windsor Press Club: Golden Quill Award for journalism
* 1995 Periodical Marketers’ Awards: Book of the Year & Author of the Year, for ''On the Take''
* 1988
Centre for Investigative Journalism Award
The Centre for Investigative Journalism Award (1986–1990) was given for excellence in investigative journalism by Canadian journalists. It was administered by the Canadian Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ).
History
Founded in 1978, CIJ ...
honorable mention for a 1987 story in ''The Globe and Mail'' about the amounts the
PC Canada fund paid for decorating the
prime minister's residence.
References
External links
Regret the Error: Stevie Cameron corrects The GlobeText of Cameron's
letter to the editor
A letter to the editor (LTE) is a Letter (message), letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through ...
responding to the ''Globes allegations that she was an RCMP informant.
* 2003 article in the '"Catholic New Times'' profiling Cameron's work on the issue of homelessness.
Stevie Cameron official Twitter pageAuthor interview, online from CBC Words at Large
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Stevie
1943 births
Living people
Canadian newspaper journalists
Canadian Presbyterians
University of British Columbia alumni
Canadian television journalists
Canadian magazine journalists
Journalists from Ontario
Writers from Belleville, Ontario
Canadian women television journalists
Canadian investigative journalists
Canadian political journalists
20th-century Canadian journalists
21st-century Canadian journalists
20th-century Canadian women writers
Centre for Investigative Journalism Award winners
20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers
21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers
Canadian women non-fiction writers
21st-century Canadian women writers