Steve Arnold, a workhorse freelance reporter for The Canadian Jewish News—both in its former print incarnation and current digital state—died on Feb. 27 after succumbing to brain damage from a fall a week earlier. He was 67.
Based in St. Catharines, Ont., Arnold began writing for The CJN in 2018, covering the growing Jewish population in and around Hamilton. When the weekly newspaper folded in 2020, he moved seamlessly to the Canadian Jewish Record, which published online from May 2020 until The CJN’s return in January 2021.
The Record was volunteer-driven, and Arnold never turned down work even though it was unpaid. Between the two publications, he wrote more than 160 stories.
“He was the love of my life and the most generous, gentle, loving man a wife could ever ask for,” his wife Pam Ceci wrote in a Facebook post announcing Arnold’s death. “He was always ready to help anyone. He treated me like a princess.”
He was remembered as the opposite of the stereotypically prickly and irascible reporter. A bearish man, he was gentle and even soft-spoken but never shied from asking tough questions.
Arnold’s “deep interest in and devotion to Jewish life across Canada—in all its facets—shone through in his work for The CJN,” said Yoni Goldstein, the CEO and editor-in-chief. “His journalistic contributions in the last year alone were a significant part of the effort to revive The CJN. Steve will be greatly missed by the entire CJN family. Thankfully, we have his words to remember him fondly by.”
Among the stories Arnold covered for the Canadian Jewish Record and The CJN was the drawn-out saga of the University of Toronto law school’s offer, later withdrawn, of a teaching job to scholar Valentina Azarova, whose pro-Palestinian leanings raised red flags for Jewish advocacy groups. Arnold dubbed the protracted affair, which included allegations of interference in the hiring process by a Jewish judge, “the story that would not die”—until it did when Azarova finally rejected the university’s reconsidered offer.
He also covered outbreaks of COVID at Shalom Village, Hamilton’s Jewish retirement home, and controversies surrounding neo-Nazi and white supremacist members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Among Arnold’s strengths were writing about local matters that had historical significance. One was the naming of a street in Ajax, Ont. after a Nazi-era naval captain, and, in a similar vein, the ongoing debate over Swastika Lane in Puslinch, Ont.
Stephen Arnold was born in Hamilton, Ont. on March 31, 1954, the eldest of six children. “It was in his mind to be a reporter right from high school,” his wife recalled. He wrote for several small newspapers in the region, but “his aim was to get to the Hamilton Spectator,” which he finally joined in 1988.
He was a general assignment reporter and later a business writer. Among his beats was the local steel company, Stelco, one of Hamilton’s largest employers.
Arnold will be remembered by colleagues at the Spec “as kind, knowledgable, friendly and respectful,” the paper’s managing editor, Howard Elliott, told The CJN.
He had great knowledge and understanding of the city’s vital steel sector, Elliott added. “I recall as managing editor often seeking his advice and interpretation concerning the industry. If you wanted a well-rounded, honest opinion, Steve was a go-to source.”
Arnold was also chair of the union local and helped negotiate several collective agreements. Said Elliott: “That is, by nature, an adversarial process, but regardless of the heat of the moment, Steve worked hard to remain calm and respectful, and that influence rubbed off on everyone around the bargaining table.
“That same even-keeled nature was a hallmark of Steve’s newsroom work,” Elliott went on.
“Editors recall him as being approachable, always willing to help and pitch in whether with getting work done or supporting colleagues. To young reporters, he became a mentor figure, and many benefited from his generous spirit.
“In my nearly 40 years in the business, I rarely ran across someone with so many positive qualities. Journalism needs more people like Steve, and his loss is felt profoundly,” Elliott said.
Arnold began undergraduate work at McMaster University in 1978 and returned as a mature student to earn a BA in history and political science in 2000. He then completed a master’s degree in public policy analysis at the University of Guelph in 2003.
Arnold took a buyout from the Spectator in 2016 and moved to St. Catharines, where, the following year, he married his second wife, a Catholic.
“He was supportive of me and I was supportive of him,” said Pam Ceci. “He came to mass with me and I went to synagogue with him every week.” The synagogue was Hamilton’s Temple Anshe Shalom, where Arnold had served on the board of directors for a time and attended Torah study every Saturday morning.
Arnold is survived by his wife, Pam Ceci; stepchildren Bradley McCumber and Brianne Wheaton; three grandchildren; and siblings Sandra, Terri, Michael, and Cindy. His brother, Allan, predeceased him.