Canadian journalist, author and philanthropist Stevie Cameron dead at 80

Stevie Cameron, a Canadian journalist, author and philanthropist whose work spanned decades, has died. She was 80.

Cameron's family told CBC News that she died in her home in Toronto on Saturday.

Born in Belleville, Ont., Cameron's journalism career began in the mid-1970s and lasted until the early 2000s.

During that time, she worked at many of Canada's pre-eminent news outlets — including the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Ottawa Citizen and Maclean's — as a columnist, editor or reporter.

She also hosted CBC's The Fifth Estate in the early 1990s.

Outside of journalism, Cameron wrote several books, whose subjects ranged from serial killer Robert Pickton to the scandals of former prime minister Brian Mulroney.

Her philanthropic efforts focused on helping the homeless and others in material need.

In 2013, she was appointed to the Order of Canada for her contributions in her field and "her volunteer work on behalf of the disadvantaged."

"She exercised her abilities as a writer and a journalist, really speaking truth to power," daughter Amy Cameron told CBC News.

"As a result, she felt that she might piss some people off, but it's also essential ... to tell these stories."

In addition to Amy, Cameron is survived by her husband, David, and daughter Tassie.

Her family said a funeral will be held on Sept. 8 at St. Andrew's Church in downtown Toronto, where Cameron was involved in establishing an Out of the Cold program in 1991.