Family, friends mourn loss of Manitoba consumer advocate

Family, friends, co-workers and community members are mourning the death of Gloria Desorcy, Manitoba's executive director of the Consumers' Association of Canada, after she passed away last Tuesday. 

Jacquie Wasney, a board member of CAC, said she was in "great shock and sadness" when she heard the news, as Desorcy was a colleague and a best friend. She was 62. 

"I will miss her. I will miss her laughter and I will miss hours and hours and hours of lengthy policy discussions over a coffee or a glass of wine," she said. "She has such an incredible spirit." 

Wasney couldn't disclose how she died, but said she passed away quickly and peacefully.

Her death was sudden and she had been dealing with health issues for some time, Wasney said. 

Byron Williams, director of the Public Interest Law Centre, knew Desorcy for 25 years — first as a colleague and then as a friend. 

"An amazing, funny woman. She was also deeply spiritual and she lived a life of great significance and great kindness," said Williams. 

"While I was shocked and saddened, I also felt that this was a life, a life that had been really well lived," he said. 

Legacy in consumer advocacy 

Wasney says Desorcy was full of energy and had a passion for life, and she used her skills to shape the consumer movement in Manitoba, first through emphasizing consumer interest in the marketplace and then public engagement. 

"It's an incredible impact. What we will have to do now is pick up from where we are, where she has brought us … and examine how we will go forward," said Wasney. 

Williams said he worked with Desorcy on a wide range of issues: hydro rates and hydro projects, public insurance, payday lending, affordability of phones, support for remote communities and improved competition in the marketplace — just to name a few. 

They've stood in many hearings together before the Public Utilities Board, Clean Environmental Commission and Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commissions, he said. 

"Her vision of a democracy and modern decision-making was that it required the voice of the citizens directly affected …that consumers had a right to be educated about important issues," Williams said. "She was so principled, she was fearless."

'So fiercely concerned about the environment': cousin 

Teri Schroeder, Desorcy's first cousin, spoke to her on the phone nearly once every week. She said the family's still in shock. 

Schroeder said they grew up together and shared similar concerns about the environment; they would often exchange gifts that were recycled or made of recycled materials. 

"I would describe Gloria as very gentle," Schroeder said. "[She's] so fiercely concerned about the environment, fiercely concerned about other people … we will be missing that spirit in this world."

Veronica McKinnon, Desorcy's first cousin once removed, said she cared deeply about her family and moved in with her parents and uncle when they were elderly. 

"She did everything it took to make their lives as meaningful as possible while they were losing their ability to live it the way they used to," McKinnon said. 

She said Desorcy always had a smile and was curious about everyone's lives. 

"She was always interested, and I think I'm going to miss knowing how much she cared about everybody and just her presence, she would bring joy to everything," McKinnon said.