15 June 2006
The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers is honoured to be co-sponsoring with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Retired Heads of Mission Association a memorial plaque that will recognize Canadian government employees and their immediate family members serving with them who died in tragic circumstances while on active duty abroad. The plaque will be dedicated in the lobby of the Lester B. Pearson Building, 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa on Friday, June 16, 2006 at 9:30 a.m.
A more dangerous world has exposed Canada’s Foreign Service to much higher risks than those normally associated with work and life in Canada. Foreign Service officers serve around the world in dangerous places such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti and the Sudan. The death of Glyn Berry in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on January 15, 2006 served to highlight these dangers.
The idea to create this commemorative plaque began when the Foreign Service Class of 1982 celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2002 by remembering a number of classmates who died violently while on assignment abroad.
This memorial is intended to remember and honour all those who were part of the broader foreign service family on active service for the Government of Canada, including the Departments of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Citizenship and Immigration, the Canadian International Development Agency, and any other federal government organization. This includes dependents of employees who die while accompanying the employee on active service, as well as Locally Engaged Staff at Canada’s Embassies and Missions overseas.
This project enjoys the support of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO), the Retired Heads of Mission Association (RHOMA), the Foreign Service Community Association (FSCA), the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Albert Galpin 613-944-6994