|

April 30: A date to commemorate the Indochinese refugees to Canada

An Act of Parliament now makes April 30 a day of commemoration for the Indochinese refugee movement. The Act is on-line. CIHS President, Michael Molloy, met with the Senators and that hearing is now on-line. (Note: Videos best viewed with Internet Explorer). In speaking about the movement of the ‘boat people’ to Canada, Molloy said, This movement “…was an amazing achievement. It was made possible by outstanding leadership at all levels of government, by  hardworking public servants, and above all, by literally hundreds of thousands of ordinary Canadian who sponsored refugees through their churches and synagogues, their services clubs, unions, and ad hoc groups of friends and neighbours.”

See also

  • | | |

    Resettlement of southeast Asian refugees (1979-1981)

    Interview with Brian Bell, Chief of Policy, Settlement Services, EIC (1979-1981) “[I]t was the people from top to bottom, and it was the times. The department had gone from … between the 60s to the 90s … from Manpower and Immigration with a very strong employment orientation, to the 80s where there was a real…

  • |

    Photo album page has been updated!

    We have updated the page containing photo albums from the southeast Asian refugee resettlement program of the late 1970s and early 1980s to make them easier to view. Anyone who has photos that they feel will be of interest to CIHS members, from any period of Canada’s immigration history, is encouraged to let us know. We will…

  • |

    French text in “Running on Empty”

    Running on Empty’, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, includes texts written in French by officers of the Quebec immigration department and then translated. We are pleased to present these two original versions written by Florent Fortin and by Lucile Horner, both Quebec immigration department officers assigned to the Indochinese refuge camps.

  • |

    The Settlement of Indochinese Refugees

    The Settlement of Indochinese Refugees: A Preliminary Analysis based on Interviews with Officials of the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission This 1981 report by Meyer Burstein, led the late Kirk Bell, then Immigration Director General of Policy at Employment and Immigration Canada, to call Meyer in for a chat. This work was Meyer’s introduction to immigration matters….

  • |

    1999 Evacuation of Kosovars to Canada

    In 1999, the Government of Canada announced it would take 5000 Kosovars, displaced by ethnic strife, into the country where they could stay temporarily or settle permanently. This documentary traces the Kosovars movement to Canada and presents the partnerships between employees of Citizenship and Immigration Canada with other federal departments, the Canadian Red Cross and other groups…

  • |

    ‘Boat people’ stories

    Canadians who came here under the ‘boat people’ movement are now telling their stories. CIHS is partnering with the Southeast Asian Canadian community organizations, Carleton University and others to capture the stories – many of which are now on-line, through the ‘Hearts of Freedom’ project. The project will ensure that the settlement experience of these…