We, Vietnamese staff at the Embassy of Canada to Vietnam, would like to share our deepest condolences with Deborah's family on this huge loss. Deborah was Canada's Ambassador to Vietnam between 2010 and 2013. She was such an inspiration; a loving, kind and humble leader and friend to all of us. We were very happy to have her back on a short visit in January 2019. She will be sorely missed and fondly remembered. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this difficult time.

I worked with Deborah as her administrative assistant during her posting as Ambassador of Canada in Hanoi Vietnam. She was such a nice person to work with and respected by her colleagues. When I met my wife Minh in Hanoi and got married, we asked Deborah to say a few words at our wedding. It was truly an honor to have the Ambassador of Canada speak at our wedding and made the day extra special. Our heartfelt condolences to Deborah’s family.

Ryan and Minh

I am saddened that Deborah left us too soon. We were colleagues-- she succeeded me in Hanoi-- but I really go to know her through a trip we took together to Myanmar in 2013 and then by playing Words with Friends, usually twice a day. She was a formidable opponent, so it was noticeable when her cancer returned. As long as she was playing, I knew she was OK. Then she stopped. When the announcement of her Order of Canada came out, I sent her a message of congratulations, and in her usual "let's make light of it" fashion, responded, "I’m hoping with the new initials behind my name, my WWF prowess will increase. Or at least intimidate other players."

I will miss her greatly.

I was beyond sad to learn about Deborah’s passing. She was so good at communicating and she still inspires me to be better. We last chatted in April when I told her I was moving to Europe. She said skiing would be great and I told her to plan a visit. I feel fortunate to have been with her in Guatemala during her last posting abroad, and to have met her visiting family and her dog, Ginger. She was a leader: for women, Indigenous people, Canadians and so many more. She was generous, kind and funny. She opened her home and yard to us (yes that is important when one has a dog and a kid in Guatemala) and she was always available for an informed discussion or a silly question. She did prefer that written questions arrived with a strict adherence to grammatical correctness (so maybe it’s better she can’t read this final goodbye). She was happy to share book titles, podcasts and travel tips. I was able to travel around Guatemala and Belize with her, but my favourite travel memories are those where she brought everyone together through volunteering projects. In the end, she also shared her cancer years, opening the conversation once again to help others whether with her journey, with theirs, or with their family and friends who were dealing with cancer in some form in their lives. I will miss her and I hope she is in peace. I am thinking of her family, of Ginger, and her friends from around the globe.

Here is her blog about the cancer years - a gift that keeps giving.

https://deborahchatsis.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Vera, for this beautiful piece last year:

https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/a-woman-to-her-sister-with-cancer-for-now-i-thank-god-you-are-here-today/?fbclid=IwAR0U-48Dxz6KC0Jmutyn2zdy1LsxdwphwuuD3AWnelQRZg9gKfhZpHppH0E

Deborah and I shared a wall in the Legal Bureau at Foreign Affairs. Our shared passion for justice brought us close, first as colleagues, then as friends. I was deeply humbled by her commitment to the negotiation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - her contribution to the seemingly endless fight for the "S" in "PeopleS", and its ultimate success, will stand as a memorial to both her and the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation. But I will also remember her love of adventure: to pack her bags and travel whenever the opportunity arose. She dropped by to visit us at all our postings, and it was *only* Covid that stopped her (well, all of us) from joining our friend EBJ in Las Vegas earlier this year, in follow-up to our get-together in Paris 5 years earlier, just before her diagnosis. She was indomitable. Rest easy, my dear friend.

Sabine