Hector Cowan – Chernobyl

May 22, 2019January 31, 2026

Canadian diplomats carry out many different duties when serving abroad. CIHS member, Hector Cowan, was tasked with helping a group of Canadian students leave the disaster zone of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear plant explosion.

Foreign operations | Refugees | Southeast Asians

Running on Empty – Book Publication
March 17, 2017May 16, 2026

The Society proudly announces the publication of its book, ‘Running on Empty’, on the Indochinese ‘boat people’ movement under the banner of McGill Queen’s University Press. The book focuses on the work of Canadian public servants in Southeast Asia and Canada to meet an unprecedented commitment to resettle 70,000 of the refugees before the end of 1980….

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Foreign operations | Refugees | Southeast Asians | Special movements

Resettlement of southeast Asian refugees (1979-1981)
January 16, 2026May 7, 2026

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…

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Foreign operations | Immigration | Refugees

An interview with Joe Bissett
February 24, 2026February 24, 2026

In 1956, James “Joe” Bissett was one of the first recipients of a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Carleton University. CIHS member Doug Dunnington recently located this video of Carleton University’s 2024 interview with Joe, who is a CIHS member emeritus. Carleton has established the Bissett Alumni Award for Distinctive Contributions to the…

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Foreign operations | Refugees | Southeast Asians | Special movements

Ne prenez pas les bateaux
January 9, 2026January 27, 2026

L’ancien agent du service exterieur d’immigration, René Bersma, propose ses souvenirs détaillés du début de sa carrière, en mettant particulièrement l’accent sur ses expériences en Asie du Sud-Est (1978-1982).

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Foreign operations | Refugees | Southeast Asians

The Southeast Asian refugee ‘Notification of Arrival Telex’ and ‘Destination Matching Request’
September 6, 2016January 25, 2026

‘Going under’ – that was what the Indo China refugee task group found themselves facing in Ottawa. There was a ‘collision’ between the resource demands of overseas processing and maintaining the air bridge to Canada and the operational needs of matching private settlement offers in Canada. Canadian private settlement organizations were vocal about the disconnect…

Read More The Southeast Asian refugee ‘Notification of Arrival Telex’ and ‘Destination Matching Request’
Foreign operations | Refugees | Southeast Asians | Special movements

Don’t Take the Boats
January 9, 2026January 29, 2026

Former immigration foreign service officer René Bersma offers his comprehensive recollections of the early part of his career, with particular emphasis on his experiences in south-east Asia (1978-1982).

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