David passed away July 1, 2008 with his wife and children by his side after a valiant struggle with cancer. He was born in Colwyn Bay, Wales, and spent the first ten years of his life on the Isle of Man. David’s family emigrated to Canada in 1955, his father joined the RCAF, and David spent the next decade on airforce stations in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario. He completed highschool in Goderich, Ontario, after which he attended and received degrees from the Universities of Waterloo, Toronto and Harvard. David spent his career helping to build and improve medicare from within the civil service. After a short period at Queen’s Park, in 1973 David joined the public service in Saskatchewan, rising over the next decade to become Associate Deputy Minister of Health. In 1982, he accepted an offer to join the Alberta civil service in a similar role, and over the next 13 years he played a key role in Alberta’s healthcare reforms of the 90’s, and in helping to manage the relationship between the government and the medical community. In 1995 David joined the British Columbia government as Chairman of the Medical Services Commission, and shortly thereafter as Deputy Minister of Health. During his tenure as Deputy, BC reorganized healthcare delivery on a regional model, with over 90% of the budget and services of several hundred delivery agencies becoming the responsibility of just 13 regions. Over the course of his career David became acutely familiar with the strengths and shortcomings of federal/provincial healthcare relations, and the Canada Health Act. In 2000, he accepted the opportunity to become senior advisor to Health Canada on healthcare policy. In this capacity, David played a major role in the development and implementation of the federal/provincial Health Accords. David returned to Victoria in 2002, and continued to write and consult to governments on healthcare policy issues. Throughout his life, David was an avid bird watcher and enthusiastic cyclist. His passion for the outdoors took him on adventure tours across Canada and many parts of the world. He served as President of the Rocky Point Bird Observatory and was a board member of the Habitat Acquisition Trust. In his retirement, David continued his love of politics by serving as President of the Saanich Gulf Islands Federal Liberal Riding Association where he gained many staunch supporters and admirers. David is survived by the love of his life, Sharon; his children Jane, Jason and Evan; grandchildren Bryana, Hudson, Robyn and Ronan; parents Stan and Lil; and brother John.
Please join his family at a wake to celebrate David’s life to be held at his home, 5308 Mynabird Lane in Saanich, on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 from 2pm until 6pm. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to TLC, The Land Conservancy, www.conservancy.bc.ca.
Peace, order and good government.
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