DAVE MOULAND

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DAVE MOULAND Long-time Winnipeg Harvest volunteer Dave Mouland died early Saturday morning, March 25, 2017, at age 67. He is survived by a brother in New Zealand, a sister in England, and his beloved cat, Patches. Dave was known for his passion for social justice and his willingness to speak truth to power. As a former client of Winnipeg Harvest, Dave shared publicly how hunger and poverty affected him and other low-income people. He urged elected leaders and other decision-makers to consider the effects of their decisions on the poor. Born on a dairy farm in Dorset, England, Dave grew up running cross-country on roads built by the Romans. His high school team won a regional championship and competed in the national soccer championship. Dave came to Canada at age 18, dropped his English accent and read the newspaper thoroughly every day to understand his new country and its place in the world. He worked his way up from pushing a broom to quality control at a Winnipeg aerospace company. He was in a bowling league, attended Winnipeg Blue Bombers football games and travelled to the Grey Cup. All that changed when a hip injury outside the workplace ended Dave's career and forced him to ask for food from Winnipeg Harvest. He gave back by answering the phones, booking food bank appointments for other clients. Dave became politically motivated after City Council hiked bus fares by 20 cents in 2012. Dave organized a coalition and a petition drive, made presentations to Council and its committees and got the hike rescinded. There was no stopping him. He made presentations to other bodies, including a committee of the Legislature and the Public Utilities Board, the first time that board had ever heard directly from consumers about the effects of Manitoba Hydro rate hikes. As a member of Winnipeg Harvest's Hunger and Poverty Awareness Committee, Dave was part of an ongoing respectful dialogue between current and former clients and other members of the community. His fertile mind produced questions and policy proposals such as: Why not charge for parking at casinos and use the money to make hospital parking free? If ambulances are the front door to emergency care, why not cover their cost through Medicare? Serving on a committee about energy affordability, Dave won the respect of top executives of Manitoba Hydro and the Public Utilities Board, who put his proposals at the top of the committee's agenda. Dave no longer needed to be a Winnipeg Harvest client after he turned 65 and started receiving Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments. His experience reinforced Dave's support for a Basic Income for all Canadians. For his fight against the transit fare hikes, Dave won the Premier's Volunteer Service Award from Volunteer Manitoba in 2013. Board president Gail Loewen informed Dave he had won the Lee Newton Memorial Award, Winnipeg Harvest's highest honour, at his bedside. It will be presented posthumously at Monday's service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Winnipeg Harvest. A Celebration of the Life of Dave Mouland will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, April 3 at Winnipeg Harvest, 1085 Winnipeg Avenue. All are welcome. Dave will be missed by all who knew him.
Publish Date: Apr 1, 2017

DAVE MOULAND Long-time Winnipeg Harvest volunteer Dave Mouland died early Saturday morning, March 25, 2017. Dave was known for his passion for social justice and his willingness to speak truth to power. As a former client of Winnipeg Harvest, Dave shared publicly how hunger and poverty affected him and other low-income people. He urged elected leaders and other decision-makers to consider the effects of their decisions on the poor. A longer obituary will follow in Saturday's Winnipeg Free Press. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Winnipeg Harvest. A Celebration of the Life of Dave Mouland will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, April 3 at Winnipeg Harvest, 1085 Winnipeg Avenue. All are welcome.

Publish Date: Mar 30, 2017

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 01, 2017