Serving Overseas
By Angelle Meunier
While many Albertans support peacekeeping missions and achieving justice internationally,
few actually take on the role. Increasingly, staff from Solicitor General and
Alberta Justice are accepting the challenges to help improve the justice system
a half a world away. Some are assigned or offered temporary employment, others
volunteer. All feel very strongly about the purpose of their missions.
"They've
gone beyond giving back to their community. They are giving back to their country
and the world," said Heather Forsyth, Alberta Solicitor General.
"They willingly go into a world, very different from the comfort of their homes, to make a difference. To hopefully make peace a normal reality," said Arnold Galet, Assistant Deputy Minister Correctional Services, who also previously served with the Canadian Forces Reserves.
"We encourage any employee who requests a leave of absence for peacekeeping duties. We will support them when we can," said Galet.
"There is no question that the justice system is global, and is affected
by international laws and court decisions half a world away. By assisting recovering
countries in obtaining justice through the sharing of our expertise and knowledge,
we are contributing to global justice," said Dave Hancock, Alberta Justice
Minister.
Alex Tsang
Alberta Solicitor General
Probation Officer, Edmonton East Office
Alex
Tsang worked for the provincial government for 33 years. He takes great pride
in the 24 years he has served as a reservist with the Canadian Armed Forces.
During his posting in Bosnia, Tsang helped to disburse over 2.5 million Euros (approx. $5 million Cdn) to rebuild homes, schools, hospitals, bridges and roads.
"These countries always have new challenges. They may no longer be life and death challenges, but they still have to rebuild," said Tsang. "Our efforts made a small dent, because the damage in the country is so extensive."
Tsang worked closely with international development agencies including USAID, World Vision, Red Cross, Canadian International Development Agency, and the UN. Not only does Alex volunteer for the federal reserves, he has also been actively working to help fundraise for various youth related activities.
Paul Bury
Alberta Solicitor General
Correctional Service Worker, Edmonton
Young Offender Centre
Paul
Bury has been a provincial correctional service worker for 18 years and has been
on peacekeeping duties in Bosnia twice. On his last tour he spent two years as
a commander of the reserve component of the regular forces battle group working
to control the safety, security, and stability of one area of Bosnia. At some
points he had no less than 120 and up to 200 staff under his command.
The days were long, working 14 to 16 hours a day - very different from the shift work of a correctional service worker. Bury, however, found the rewards of peacekeeping duties two-fold. "On one hand we are serving our country and fulfilling a duty to Canada and its people, and on the other hand we're helping to ensure the safety and security of Bosnians."
Bury found being a reservist made him appreciate the country he lives in.
"Canadians are extremely fortunate to have stability and security in their lives and it's one thing I don't take for granted."
Gary McCuaig
Alberta Justice
With an interest in international affairs and supported by 25 years of knowledge
and experience, Edmonton's former Chief Crown prosecutor Gary McCuaig took
a six-month leave of absence last fall to accept a temporary job with the United
Nations as a prosecutor in Kosovo.
During his time in the Balkan province, he worked on prosecuting war crimes and other serious cases. As part of his duties, he assisted in the trial of four senior Kosovo Liberation Army leaders accused of ordering fellow ethnic-Albanians killed, or illegally arrested and tortured.
The work Gary did during his six-month tenure contributed to the conviction of Rrustem Mustafa and three of Mustafa's associates in July 2003.
"The main thing is they got a fair trial and the evidence came out," said Gary. "I think this is an area where we can make a contribution to the justice system of a recovering country."
Strong public backing for the Kosovo Liberation Army makes it very difficult to prosecute war-crime cases as people who know the truth are often intimidated and are also faced with the dilemma of supporting the legal system and its prosecution of their war heros.
The conviction was the first time the international court has convicted anyone from the rebel side in the Kosovo conflict.
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Armoured personnel carrier for accused war criminals to be brought to court. |
War-torn housing. |
