Throughout her professional and personal life, Elizabeth Gryte demonstrated an uncommon dedication and commitment to easing the settlement process for refugees and immigrants upon their arrival in Canada. For the last decade, Elizabeth held the position of Manager and, more recently, Director of Settlement Programs for the Ontario Region of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). This is a tribute to Elizabeth, presented at the 2007 OCASI Professional Development Conference.

2. Elizabeth Gryte
1948-2007
A Tribute

4. Throughout her professional
and personal life, Elizabeth
Gryte demonstrated an
uncommon dedication and
commitment to easing the
settlement process for
refugees and immigrants upon
their arrival in Canada.

5. For the last decade, Elizabeth
held the position of Manager
and, more recently, Director of
Settlement Programs for the
Ontario Region of Citizenship
and Immigration Canada (CIC)

7. Ratna Omidvar – Former
President, OCASI
I will forever remember
Elizabeth for her wonderful
jewellery and flamboyant colours.
She had this wonderful
silver necklace with a frog and I
was always mesmerised by it.
In the last few years Elizabeth and
I connected on a personal level on
a whole bunch of things, books,
poetry, travel and pottery. We
spent a lovely evening in Oslo
talking about Canadian books.

8. But we spent most of our time
talking about her passion -
immigrants and refugees. In her
office she had all these
mementoes that she had received
from refugees and there was
always a wonderful and very
personal story attached to each of
them. She was so dedicated to
their well being.

9. For this and so much more, I will
always remember Elizabeth with
great respect, fondness and
admiration.
Ratna Omidvar - Executive
Director, Maytree Foundation

10. Kemi Jacobs - Former Director,
OCASI
Elizabeth was a consistent
champion for immigration to
Canada and was instrumental in
the creation of several programs
which provided critical supports to
newcomers.

11. Although Elizabeth was often the
'face' of Citizenship and
Immigration Canada to many
advocates who pushed for
improved services for newcomers,
and that ' face', was (by definition)
often on the opposite side of the
line, Elizabeth's commitment to
settlement was never questioned.
Kemi Jacobs – Toronto
Community Housing Corporation

12. Maisie Lo – OCASI Director
When I started my career in
settlement many years ago, I did
not know much about CIC. I did
know someone named Elizabeth
Gryte. Whenever I saw her,
whether in meetings or
conferences, I knew that she
would bring along ideas, thoughts
or information that mattered. To
me, she was CIC.

13. She was part of the era when the
settlement sector laid foundation,
gained ground and beat all odds.
We were all in it together. You
cannot think of those years
without thinking of Elizabeth.
Maisie Lo - WoodGreen
Community Services

14. Tim Owen – Former Director,
OCASI
I knew Elizabeth for more
than 20 years, but she was always
full of surprises. It might have
been because of her modest
nature, but she kept much of
herself private. This is a shame,
because she had a naturally
generous, creative and caring
personality.

15. Perhaps oddly for a career civil
servant, she had little patience for
the safety of the routine, or for
doing things the way they had
always been done.
She was always open to new
ideas, and creative approaches.
She challenged her colleagues, at
CIC, and us in the community, to
do things differently, to do things
better, and to ensure our focus
was on the needs of our clients.

16. It is hard to think of her without
also remembering Kerry Reade. In
the late 1980's the two of them
were instrumental in creating
many of the programs we take for
granted today, including the
Reception Centres, LINC, and
settlement programs in the
schools. They imagined how
things could be better, and never
tired of working to do just that.
Timothy Owen – World Education
Services (WES)

17. Howard Sinclair Jones – Founding
Executive Director, OCASI
At the Memorial for
Elizabeth in Toronto a couple of
weeks ago, Mike Malloy
mentioned Elizabeth's quot;lookquot;...
her unnerving ability to put you in
your place by staring you in the
eye, often with a few carefully-
chosen words!

18. My most vivid memory of this was
at a Canadian Council for
Refugees conference in the late
1980s. I was a member of a panel
asked to comment on some
aspect of settlement policy -- I
can't remember what some 20
years later, nor quite what I said --
but what I do remember is feeling
particularly grouchy that morning.
Even at the best of times I could
be a bit undiplomatic about certain
aspects of federal settlement
policy - and 9:00 a.m. was not the
best of times for me!

19. Anyway, after we finished, I was
filing out of the room with about
200 people and found myself next
to Elizabeth. Somewhat
embarrassed I blurted out, quot;Hi
Elizabeth! How are you? Did you
enjoy that?quot; At which she gave
me THE LOOK, got a twinkle in
her eye and replied: quot;What do you
think I am? A masochist?“
I never asked Elizabeth such a
stupid question again!
“Elizabeth’s Look” – Fond
Memories, from Howy Sinclair-
Jones…

20. Axelle Janczur – OCASI Director
Think way back to 1984 or 85,
thereabouts… Elizabeth Gryte
was the ISAP officer for the
Centre for Spanish Speaking
Peoples in Toronto...picture her in
a mini-skirt and thigh high black
boots...big auburn hair.... She was
a lot of fun and told us stories
about her escapades hitchhiking
around Guatemala when she was
attached to a consular office in
Central America.

21. These were my first experiences
working with CIC and she
influenced my attitude
immensely. She was warm and
compassionate, self-deprecating
and always ready for a
laugh. She was very fair and
reasonable and very appreciative
of the work the agency was doing
with immigrants and refugees in
Toronto. I think her personal
experiences helped to inform her
professionally.

22. Another memory I have is, again,
many years ago....1988 maybe. A
journalist called me with questions
about some immigration or
refugee related issue that was
hot at the time.
I was not experienced in talking to
the media, actually I was flattered
by the call and I was frank and
honest about issues he
raised. This was then used
against CIC as part of a story they
were doing - and it was a good
example of my words being used
out of context to further a

23. particular story line.
When the story was published,
Elizabeth called me and ripped a
strip out of my hide - and then she
proceeded to give me very good
advice for how to deal with the
media in the future. She taught me
the best lesson about media
relations that I ever received in my
life and stays with me to this
day. I think she quoted Churchill
to me ... something about him
having said that everyone has to
eat their own words at some point
in their lives.

24. Every time I speak to the media
now (and since then it has been
many times in my professional
life), I remember Elizabeth and
thank her for that lesson.
Axelle Janczur – Access Alliance
Multicultural Health Centre

25. Fatima Filippi – OCASI Director
My circle of learning with Elizabeth
Gryte began in the late 1980’s at
one of the very first CIC-SPO
meetings. I remembered her
bright burgundy red lipstick and
funky teddy bear necklace. I
thought that we SPOs had a
“softy” who would support us.

26. After the meeting, the SPOs left
with only a few wounds and our
pride still intact. I learned that we
needed to do our homework and
be prepared to take just as much
constructive criticism as we
handed out.
I later had the opportunity to work
with Elizabeth on a working group
to address the discrimination that
immigrant women faced when
trying to access federally funded
English language classes.

27. Elizabeth was passionate
and determined to make changes;
she did not hide her feelings for
the policies of the day. She
insisted that we forge ahead and
think critically about our
recommendations. Elizabeth was
instrumental in setting up
Settlement Language Programme
(SLP) for Immigrant Women; the
forerunner to LINC.
And in March 2007, my
circle of learning was completed
when I last saw Elizabeth at the
first LINC Co-ordinator’s
Conference in Toronto.

28. Elizabeth gave the group a history
of the LINC programme and its
birth from the Charter Challenge. I
was impressed. Again I was
reminded of her long standing
commitment to address the
barriers faced by immigrant
women, while improving standards
for everyone else along the way.
Fatima Filippi – Rexdale Women’s
Centre

29. Elizabeth dedicated her long
and successful career to
improving the lives of newcomers.
Elizabeth’s charm, wit and intellect
will not soon be forgotten. Her
passing is a great loss and her
presence will be truly missed.
Reza Shahbazi – OCASI Director,
and New Canadians’ Centre of
Excellence Inc.

30. Passion and Creativity….what a
fantastic combination! These
qualities were evident in
Elizabeth’s work and in her art.
The more I learn about her
private self since her passing, the
more I have come to appreciate
these qualities and the more I
admire her as a woman, as an
artist and as an individual
committed to supporting
immigrants and refugees in
Canada. May she rest in peace.
Josie Di Zio – OCASI Director,
and COSTI Immigrant Services

31. Elizabeth was loved by some and
disliked by others, often
misunderstood. She was a friend
to the sector who gave her all to
ensure immigrants and refugees
had access to community
services.
May she rest in peace in the
knowledge her legacy lives on.
Lucya Spencer – Former
President, OCASI, Immigrant
Women’s Services of Ottawa

32. I respect and admire her
commitment and dedication in
helping immigrants and refugees
to settle in Canada. She will be
missed.
Stephen Lam – Former Director
OCASI, Catholic Community
Service of York Region

33. Elizabeth gave a lot for the cause
of immigrants and refugees. She
supported innovations in the
sector and in many ways, was a
strong supporter of building
community capacity in the sector.
We will miss her dearly.
Carl Nicholson – Former Director,
OCASI
Catholic Immigration Centre,
Ottawa

34. Yew Lee – Former President,
OCASI
I met Elizabeth for the first time in
the mid-80’s when she came to
Ottawa to visit the OCISO.
Another esteemed colleague, the
late Kerry Reade, introduced her
to me.
At that time Elizabeth shared
her experiences on the frontline,
working with refugees in Winnipeg
and in Edmonton.

35. She spoke passionately about
how churches and agencies
rallied together to help new
immigrant families, and about the
struggles of her immigrant family.
Elizabeth had profound insights
into the friendships that often
occur when “old Canadians” and
“new Canadians” meet. This
insight continued to inform her
work throughout her exceptional
career, and as the Director of
Settlement in Ontario.

36. As the Director of Settlement,
Elizabeth’s accomplishments are
manifold, and well known to all of
us in this sector.
I was shocked when I heard
that Elizabeth had died, …and I
still struggle with sadness and
disbelief that she is not here with
us today.
Elizabeth, we have shared many
struggles and successes together.

37. We shared in the promise that
there must be less suffering for
those that arrive on our shores.
We shared in the promise that life
can be much better for
immigrants… And we continue to
believe – that we can make it so.
We will all miss you
Elizabeth.
Yew Lee – Former President,
OCASI

38. Mario Calla – Former Director,
OCASI
Elizabeth Gryte was an
exceptional individual and an
exceptional civil servant. Her
passion for her work made a
significant difference in the lives of
thousands of immigrants.
One vivid memory I have of
Elizabeth is of her going to
Pearson Airport at midnight to
greet the arrival of a group of
political refugees from Cuba.

39. She followed them to the COSTI
Reception Centre where she
worked with staff into the early
morning hours photocopying
documents and ensuring that
everyone had a warm meal.
Passion and conviction drove
everything she did.
I will miss her greatly.
Mario Calla – COSTI Immigrant
Services

40. Morteza Jafarpour – Former
Director, OCASI
During the last 25 years, when
Elizabeth worked for CIC, she
contributed significantly to the
wellbeing of immigrants and
refugees in Ontario and
throughout Canada. She never
failed to express that her main
commitment and loyalty was to the
wellbeing of immigrants and
refugees. She admired innovation
and challenged hypocrisy.

41. For those of us who have had the
privilege of working with her, we
enjoyed her wisdom and were
challenged by her whenever we
were trapped in our inaction and
limitation.
Elizabeth was a mentor, coach
and a role model for many of
us. She was a beacon for many
of us who wished to dream and
aspire to greater
accomplishments.

42. She not only helped us to envision
the dream but generously she
taught us how to live it. For many
of us she has been larger and
deeper than life, just wonderful!
We will miss her!
Morteza Jafarpour – Settlement
and Integration Services
Organization