On April 30th, 2025, JRS Canada was invited to the McCord Stewart Museum to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the commemoration of Vietnamese immigration to Quebec and Canada. Norbert Piché, Director of JRS Canada; Hugo Ducharme, Sponsorship Coordinator and Office Manager; and Father Mario Brisson, SJ, were pleased to attend.

April 30, 1975, is also the date of the fall of Saigon, the day communist forces from North Vietnam took the city, marking the end of the Vietnam War and the end of the South Vietnamese regime.

During a whole year, the organization Viet Héritage Renaissance (VHR) prepared itself to organize the evening.Over 100 guests and 20 volunteers had the opportunity to view the documentary “Passage to Freedom,” a film made by professors from Carleton University (Ottawa) and Menno Simons College (Winnipeg) about refugees from Southeast Asia.

“This documentary was finalized in 2022, then presented in several museums across Canada, from Vancouver to Halifax. It was presented at McGill University in November 2023, and this is the 2nd time it returned to Montreal, on April 30. This is a high-quality documentary destined for a national archive,” said Dinh Huy Duong, organizer of the evening and president of the VHR.

The film mixes archival footage, news reports, war footage, and interviews with refugees and Canadian immigration officials. From 1975 to 1985, Canada resettled over 100,000 refugees from Southeast Asia. In 1986, Canadian people were awarded the Nansen Medal by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The medal was awarded for Canada’s work in the refugee crisis. The film shows how refugees are integrating into Canada and contributing to society.

The director of our team shared his opinion on the film.

“The documentary really touched me. It tells the story of  Vietnamese who had to flee war and persecution in Vietnam. Many perished, but many others found safety. It’s a very human film,” said Norbert Piché, National Director of JRS Canada.

“One of the Vietnamese interviewed, when he arrived in Montreal, was offered a job in Lachine, a small town south of Montreal near the border. Thinking he was being offered a job in China in Asia, he wanted nothing to do with it. We all know stories like this. It perfumes our lives with a beautiful scent,” he added.

Photos by M Sy Thuc Truong and the Montreal Vietnamese Photographers Club.

The documentary was followed by a brief question-and-answer session with teachers and filmmakers. The Hearts of Freedom (HOF) team was on hand, including Allan Moscotvitch, Mike Molloy, Peter Duchinsky, Stephanie P. Stobbe, Lê Tiến Dũng, and Trương Minh Trí.

According to our sponsorship coordinator, Hugo Ducharme, one of the university professors emphasized how Jacques Couture, a Jesuit, was important in the history of Canada’s collective sponsorship and in the history of the “boat people.”

“He had explained that there was a big Vietnamese boat off the coast of Malaysia and that the Malaysian government had said that the Vietnamese would not disembark there unless foreign governments agreed to take them. At first, Canada hesitated. It was Jesuit Father Jacques Couture, then Minister of Immigration in the Levesque government, who passed a motion in the National Assembly pledging to accept a certain number of Vietnamese refugees, which then triggered Ottawa’s response to the Vietnamese. So, that was the beginning of sponsorship in Quebec, and we owe it to a Jesuit,” said Hugo Ducharme.

Among the volunteers was Tan Hiep Huynh, father of four, who has been a volunteer with the VHR group for ten years. At this annual event, he says he feels the solidarity between the Canadian, Quebecois, and Vietnamese people.

In an interview with JRS Canada, Mr. Huynh shared with us the significance of this event for him:

“For me, it’s an important event to underline that we are people who seek freedom, we are ready to sacrifice our lives to obtain it, and it’s important to underline that for my children,” said Tan Hiep Huynh.

The event was also an opportunity for the Vietnamese community to thank Montreal, Quebec, and Canadian society for welcoming them so generously.

“It’s an opportunity to remember, to remember the people who died in the sea, the refugees, and also to thank the Canadians, who helped us get out of the communist regime. These are painful memories, but at the same time it’s an opportunity to tell the whole world that it’s worth fighting for freedom,” added Tan Hiep Huynh.

Finally, the evening’s organizer shares that one of the aims of the event was to thank members of the clergy.

[We wanted] “to express our collective gratitude to Quebec and Canadian society, which has generously welcomed us, and in particular to the Quebec clergy, who have been very involved in sponsoring refugees,” concluded Dinh Huy Duong.