Holocaust
Survivor Finds Career in Emergency Services
Immigrating to Canada as
a 14-year-old holocaust survivor, Paul Tuz, born, Vienna, Austria, 1929,
was taken under the wing of Captain F.W. Beattie and his wife, both ardent
members of St. John Ambulance, Toronto Branch. This association, for Paul,
was a timely open window for him to assimilate into Canadian society, affording
Paul an opportunity to serve St. John Ambulance, an association which has
lasted in excess of 55 years. He helped establish the first postwar First
Aid tent at the Canadian National Exhibition. He also organized firstaid
posts along the Humber River during Hurricane Hazel, 1954. At the height
of the “Cold War,” in the late 1950s and early ’60s, Paul was appointed
North Zone Controller of Metro Toronto’s Emergency Measures Organization
(E.M.O.) to prepare and coordinate all emergency services in North York,
Leaside, Weston, and Etobicoke in the event of a foreign nuclear or missile
attack. During this time, Paul trained over 5,000 people in Emergency First
Aid. A major result of Paul Tuz’s service was the systematic creation of
an efficient ambulance service located strategically in various communities
throughout Metro Toronto to serve an evergrowing population in need of
efficient emergency service. For his farsightedness in creating a community
ambulance system, now a national concept followed by every government in
Canada, Paul was made a Member of the Order of Canada, 1979. After serving
Chrysler Canada for 10 years and making his mark in industrial accident
prevention, Paul assumed the presidency of the Better Business Bureau which
during his 20-year tenure became North America’s largest BBB. Living in
semi-retirement, Paul Tuz is now Honorary Consul General of Mali and still
serves on the Advisory Committee of the St. John Ambulance. In this view,
as President of the Better Business Bureau, Paul Tuz, right, interviews
the Rt. Hon. J.G. Diefenbaker, circa 1975, former Prime Minister of Canada
(1957-1963). [Photo, courtesy Paul Tuz]