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]