C.I.H.S Bulletin

C.I.H.S Bulletin

C.I.H.S BULLETIN Issue 43 ISSN 1485 - 8460 AUGUST 2003 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY Of countless reorganizations Designed for the most part for failure Charts as plentiful as Naldi's stories ODE TO PHYLLIS TURNBULL Criss crosses and dotted lines Pretending to show reporting relationships, Who taught us all to sing The "Who's Who" of a never-never land The praises of personnel experience As respectful of truth Who showed us how to mark As Gibby Gibson's need for Brylcream The ways of public experience "Built-in self-destruct"- guaranteed To last until tomorrow. She will remember: Brown files wrapped in ribbons pink She will sigh Notes "By Hand,", Gene Beasley's wink Remembering those adjustments to be made The green ink used by "GRB" As each new boss laid down his The foolishness of our "Stage B" Own peculiar ways, Phone calls coming all the time The Shaws, Zawiza, Rogers, The MacDougals' Appeals from Boards, the loser's whine Monisons, Travels swift across the land The Sinclairs Meeting friends and shaking hands How plentiful they are "Confidential" marked on files How often they come and go Brought to her by boys with smiles She took the measure of them all "DAR" and Butler, Mitch, Bud Curry--- Mr. Lloyd But retained the dignity and strength of spirit Initials invoking the ghosts of men That is her hallmark Who walked with her down corridors Who talked to her across the years. And now she has to go But in her going She will remember too She takes with her an accumulation of memories, The rough men, the rye whiskey men An abundance of more than just our good wishes The Immigration men --- "CES," "The Hawk" She takes with her some of our heart Dunny Munroe, "Black Jack," and Mosoop --- Cy Coutu She takes with her some of our soul. Voices in laughter and tales to make the head spin Regional conferences and hotel rooms The bitterness of old debates Joe Bissett on the retirement ofPhyllis Turnbull June Strong convictions held by strong men fighting 1978 Issues alas relevant now As last year's leaves Glossary of Names And the new ones with bright ideas Gene Beasley ... Chief, Admissions for many years (50s As scary as Kim Abbott on a crusade and 60s) and later Acting Director oflmmigration. Insufferable in their arrogance, a galaxy of stars "GRB" ... Geoeges Benoit ... the formidable Chief of Made bearable only by her patience Operations in the 50s and later Director of Information. Out to win the world they were "DAR" ... Don Reid ... Succeeded GRB as Chief of On her shoulders (she often felt) Operations and laterOIC London. Boulter ... Elmer Boulter ... Asst Chief Operations in the She will dream --- not wanting to remember 50s and60s. 2 C.I.H.S BULLETIN "Mitch" ... Maurice Mitchell ... served extensively they were British subjects domiciled in Canada. overseas as OIC and later returned to Ottawa as Director My duties as an information officer included Operations of the Overseas Service. the production of a news bulletin that was sent to the Bud Curry ... still alive and active. Bud worked primarily foreign language press in Canada with appropriate on the operational side of immigration. Well known and translations as well as sending French and English respected by the men in the field and always helpful to language texts and other materials to the provinces or new officers joining the service. agencies who were conducting second language "CES" ... Stan Smith ... the Director oflmmigration in the courses for newly arrived immigrants. It was not a 50s and 60s. very fulfilling job. Our director was actually a plant "The Hawk" ... Lyle Hawkins ... for many years the pathologist and while he was a good soldier, he was Director of the Pacific Region and served as OIC Hong not a very inspiring leader. The bulletin consisted Kong. mostly of press releases from other government Dunny Mumoe ... Superintendent of Immigration in the agencies. Any original material had to be carefully Praire Region in the early 50s. edited so that it would not appear to be government "Black Jack" ... Jack Mcfarlane ... Superintendent of the propaganda. The philosophy of the Branch as it Ontario Region in the 50s. applied to immigrants was "integration not Mossop ... the District Inspector of the Praire Region in assimilation." This was in contrast to the American the 50s. theory of the melting pot and to-day is reflected in the Cy Coutu ... a veteran overseas officer who served in overall multicultural policy. During one of our skiing many posts abroad in the 50s and 60s. outings I had mentioned to John Taylor that I was not Kim Abbott ... Chief of Personnel and later Chief of too happy with Citizenship. He must have told his Inspection Services in the 50s and 60s. father, Ken Taylor, who by then was the deputy "Naldi" ... Naldi Colletto ... still active and still telling minister of Finance. One morning I was instructed to great stories. see my minister, Hon. Walter Harris. When I arrived Gibby Gibson ... former Spitfire pilot and OIC of many he told me jokingly that I was in trouble and that they overseas posts.)Gibby was as bald as the proverbial cue wanted to see me in the Prime Minister's office about ball.) a job. *Shaw ... Cliff Shaw was OIC of posts abroad in the 70s On arrival at the East Block I had an interview and 80s. with Jack Pickersgill, special assistant to the Prime *Zawiza ... John Zawiza ... Big John served as oic in many Minister. Jack, originally an External Affairs officer, posts abroad.(Sometimes referred to as the Polish cavalry had been seconded to work for Prime Minister officer because of his Polish origin.) Mackenzie King in 1938. He was only expected to be *Rogers ... Charles Rogers ... OIC ofmany posts abroad. there for a few months as the turnover of staff under *MacDougal...Ron MacDougal...served in Immigration King was very high. King was a selfish man who had for many years in both the Domestic and Foreign no concept of family life and its obligations. One of Services. King's staff, Ed Handy, once asked for a Sunday *Sinclair ... Bill Sinclair ... still around and living in afternoon off so that he could watch his son play in a Halifax ... was Chief of Personnel of the Overseas Service playoff hockey game. King told him he could go if he and later Oic London. really thought that was more important than the nation's business. Mrs. Handy was so incensed that *All former Chiefs of Personnel and Phyllis' bosses. she persuaded her husband to resign. Next day King arrived at the Handy apartment with a bouquet of flowers for Mrs. Handy whom he sweet-talked into MEMOffiS OF JIM CROSS- PART I having her husband withdraw his resignation. Jack was the exception and was still in the PMO where had earned the full confidence of both After three years with the RCMP, I decided to Mr. King and Mr. St. Laurent. try my luck with the public service. Not that my job My interview lasted for an hour at the end of lacked interest, it did, but there seemed to be no which Jack asked me in an apologetic tone about my structure for advancement for one who was a civilian. politics. I told him that his question was quite I won a competition as an information officer in the legitimate as there were political considerations for Citizenship Branch of the newly formed Department employment in the PMO I also told him that I had of Citizenship and Immigration. It may be recalled always supported the CCF (forerunner of the NDP). that it was not until 1947 that Canadians became To my disappointment Jack suggested that my distinctive citizens of their own country. Hitherto appointment would be difficult. I thought that that was it and I would be returning to the Citizenship 3 C.I.H.S BULLETIN Branch. I told him however, that I admired Mr. St. migrating in their minds and usually no friends here Laurent and that I could serve him faithfully. Jack The Hungarian rebels were forced to leave their accepted my claim and shortly thereafter I was homeland or face death or imprisonment if they established in an East Block office from which I had a stayed. Their adjustment to their new life was view of the Peace Tower ofthe Parliament Buildings. infinitely more difficult for them than for the regular I was classified as a Privy Council Officer Grade IV, immigrant. attached to the Office of the Prime Minister. During the Hungarian movement I was It appeared that there was a vacancy in the fortunate to have shared an office with Dr. Imre PMO. My new colleagues informed me that Pierre Bemolak, an economist whom we borrowed from the Elliott was fed up and had returned to Montreal. It Department of Transport ... lmre and his wife Andrea, was years later that it dawned on me that the " Pierre who was a world champion figure skater, had come to Elliott" they had mentioned was actually Pierre Elliott Canada from Hungary shortly after the war. lmre was Trudeau. My career was less than brilliant but not an unassuming man whom we used as a trouble­ many people can claim that they succeeded Trudeau in shooter On one occasion we sent him to Quebec City a job. (I was in the PMO from 1952 to 1956 when I where we had a near riot with tubercular refugees returned to Immigration) whom we had hospitalized. Canada took a much more My new role in serious view of that ailment than many European Citizenship and Immigration was executive assistant countries.

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