We are heartbroken at the passing of our great compañero Bill, one of CoDevelopment Canada's most dedicated, passionate and long-term leaders.
Bill was one of Codev's founders and, as CoDev President in the 1990s, was instrumental in expanding our scope. Until recently, Bill has been a dedicated and regular volunteer, packing coffee for Cafe Etico and helping in the office. At fundraisers and dinners, Bill and his partner Janet Routledge always worked with the crowd to drum up support, did the "asks" that made all the difference while fundraising, and provided kind support to the board and staff.
Bill and Janet, sharing lunch and meaningful conversations with CoDev staff about the organization's history, June 2024.
Jim Rader, past Executive Director and lifelong friend of Bill, helps us remember those formative days in the 1990s:
I worked with Bill at CoDev from 1993 to 2000. During that time, he was the board president and a committee member who hired me, but he was much more than a board member.He was constantly present around the office as CoDev attempted to expand its Canadian partnership base. In 1995, after CoDev parted ways with its Executive Director and Karen Smith and I were the only employees, Bill stepped up his presence even more and was present at the office three or four days a week: providing strategic advice, offering encouragement, helping launch Café Etico and carrying out any tasks asked of him, no matter how mundane. There are many stories of Bill's contributions to CoDev, but I will mention just a few of my favourites.
In 1995, we received some funds to start some projects in Cuba, but we were dealing with a hostile CIDA Officer who knew nothing of CoDev's partnership model and was skeptical of what we were doing in the region. We had organized a CUPE delegation to go to Cuba as part of the new funding, and our Officer insisted that he accompany us to "get to the bottom of us." Bill volunteered to go along and try to get to know this new Officer and smooth out some of the bumps in the relationship.
For eight days, Bill never left his side. They sat together, ate together, shared stories together, and, yes, had a drink together. They became close. I have an image of Bill and myself on our last night in Cuba, being taught German beer-drinking songs from a more than slightly inebriated CIDA Officer and absolutely killing ourselves laughing. From that point on, we never had a more supportive CIDA Officer.
On another occasion, a few years later, our self-same CIDA Officer arranged a meeting with the Minister for CIDA, who would be in Vancouver. He warned us that the meeting would only be 15 minutes and that the government had already decided to severely cut funding to all program NGOs for the following 3-year period. I prepared some briefing notes for Bill and I went to the hotel where the Minister was staying.
We met the Minister, a woman about Bill's age, in the lounge with three of her minions. The Minister opened by saying, "Well, Mr. Brassington, I don't have much time, so please get to your presentation."
With a twinkle in his eye, Bill responded, "Well, Madame Minister, it's really simple: how much more money will you give us for the next 3-year period?"
Then he smiled that devilish smile of his. She immediately started laughing, said, "That's refreshing," and told one of her assistants to get Bill and her a drink. While they chatted (none of it about CoDev) over two drinks for the next 40 minutes, I was peppered with questions by her assistants about what we were doing in the region. When the decision was made about funding, CoDev received 3% annual increases for the next 3-year period. Fifty-three of 55 other program NGOs had their funding cut during the same period.
During the 1990s, CoDev's budget went from about $125,000 to $1.5 million and one Canadian partner to twelve. Bill was a major contributor to that growth and stability. He was a great friend of CoDev throughout his life. I also considered him a friend. He will be missed.
Bill is also remembered fondly by Southern Partners. When hearing the news of his passing, one of them, Sandra, shared:
Bill and Jim were fundamental in the work with the maquila workers. Bill and all the rest of the CoDev Board and the union movement in BC, such as CUPE, the Nurses, the BCGEU and others, helped us morally, politically and economically as we organized ourselves in defence of the workers in Nicaragua. Today, that same support is spread across Central America. Our work here is built on the legacy of his support for the human, worker and gender rights of maquila workers.
We also worked with Bill and Jim to connect us with the organic coffee producers we knew, which ended up being a strong legacy of solidarity between coffee producers and Cafe Etico. This work is political and an enormous demonstration of solidarity with campesinos. It contributes to protecting the environment and is part of creating a healthier life for all.
We hope CoDev members and supporters will always remember Bill's vision and passion for creating a better world through solidarity actions. Everyone is invited to his Celebration of Life on February 8th,2025, at 1:00 p.m. at the Operating Engineers Hall, 4333 Ledger Ave, Burnaby. We hope many Codev members show up to honour our dear Bill.
You can also donate to CoDev in Bill's memory. A donation in memory of Bill is a tribute to the legacy he built—a vision of a more equal world achieved through the power of international solidarity.
