Rita Labine

Rita Labine for her 25 years of distinguished service to the Canadian government and people. From 1955 - 1963 she served in the Department of External Affairs with postings at embassies in Chile, Cambodia and Madrid. Briefly in 1959 she served on the personal staff of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. In 1963 she transferred to the Ministry of Finance and in 1965 to the Department of Immigration in Cairo. During June 1967 the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War occurred and Rita evacuated to Beirut. While she was in Beirut, the Canadian embassy was attacked and Rita escaped to Athens. In 1968 she returned to Canada within the Ministry of National Defence where she served until 1970. During 1970 - 1980 she worked for the Deputy Minister of Labour. On Parliament Hill in October 2002 the Minister of National Defence awarded Rita Labine a special medal for her service during 1967 Six-Day War.