Mr. Speaker, today one of Canada's most notable journalists receives an honorary Doctor of Divinity from the Vancouver School of Theology at UBC. While known across the country as a consummate investigative reporter and former editor of Elm Street magazine, Stevie Cameron's deep commitment to working with the homeless and hungry across Canada is less well known.
An elder with St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Toronto and the coordinator of the “Out of the Cold” program within that parish, she has worked on behalf of the homeless and poor in downtown Toronto for the past 12 years. Stevie has helped many other groups across Canada start their own “Out of the Cold” programs.
For the past two years, much of Stevie's efforts have also focused on Vancouver, where she has been researching the Port Coquitlam murders for her new book. The story of the missing women of Vancouver will serve as a study of poverty, homelessness and addictions, and the response or lack thereof of public systems to the needs of these women and their families.
I wish to congratulate a multi-talented Canadian woman who makes a difference on the Canadian landscape.