2011 Award Recipient for Lifetime Achievement

Baljit Sethi

Photo of Baljit SethiBaljit Sethi was born in India in 1933 and employed as a counsellor at a community college in Punjab before coming to Canada in 1972.

In 1974, she began working with the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia as a family counsellor and then as a settlement counsellor, assisting newcomers to Canada with settlement services. In 1976, she founded the Immigrant Services Society of Prince George, now known as the Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society (IMSS). Through her work with the IMSS, she soon realized that the integration of newcomers into the community could not be achieved without multicultural programs and the promotion of racial harmony. She encouraged the interaction of immigrants with the host community and was instrumental in promoting multiculturalism in Prince George, thereby benefiting the entire northern British Columbia region. Scores of multicultural and anti-racism projects designed by Baljit Sethi and delivered under her guidance are still being delivered today.

Through almost 40 years of dedicated service to the integration of newcomers and the promotion of multiculturalism, Baljit Sethi has changed the community’s outlook. An artist in her own right (author, painter and performing artist since before leaving India), she is also an activist and an advocate for immigrant women and has become a source of inspiration to them and to the community at large.

Highlights

  • 1980–1990: Founding Member, Intercultural Committee, City of Prince George 
  • 1980–1990: Regional Representative and Board Member, Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of B.C.
  • 1987–2007: Board Member and President, Western Canada Settlement Agencies Association
  • 1992: Board Member, Provincial Visible Minority Labour Board
  • 1992–1994: Member of Advisory Council, Multicultural Advisory Council of B.C.
  • 1993: Board Member, Premier’s Committee on Living and Working in B.C.
  • 2002–2005: President and Board Member, Learning Disability Association
  • 2006–2009: Mayor’s Special Committee on Seniors, City of Prince George
  • 2004–Present: Committee Member, Violence Against Women
  • 2008–Present: Board Member, Prince George Council of Seniors
  • 2010–Present: Member of Multicultural Advisory Council of B.C.

Recognition

  • 2010: Nomination for Order of B.C.
  • 2007: B.C. Community Achievement Award
  • 2006: Citizen of the Year Award
  • 2005: Nomination for citizenship citation
  • 2000 and 2001: Nomination for Prince George Woman of Distinction Award
  • 1998: Nomination for the Order of B.C.
  • 1999: Special award for stopping violence against women
  • 1997: Outstanding Community Service Award, City of Prince George
  • 1992: Governor General’s Award – 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada

Publications

  • 1980: “A Child Between Two Cultures”
  • 2005–2008: Services for Immigrants in the Northern Communities
  • 2005–2009: Research with University of Northern British Columbia’s Geography Department on International Brides
  • 2010: Collected stories of first-generation senior immigrants in “Journey to New Horizons” (funding provided by New Horizons for Seniors)