HEAD EXECUTIVE BOARD

The Head Executive Board (HEB) represents the Polish Combatants' Association (PCA) branches at the national level. Almost two dozen branches are located in towns and cities across Canada from Montreal to Victoria. The individual branches were organized by the immigrant Polish soldiers in the cities and towns where they were settled by the Canadian government after World War Two. Currently, the HEB office resides in Toronto.

In the late 1940s, the HEB lobbied the Canadian government on behalf of its members, all of whom had been forced to sign two year labour contracts (mostly in forestry and agriculture) as a condition of their immigration to Canada.

Also, right from the beginning, the HEB had to counter Soviet and Polish Communist propaganda. It was not a simple matter to convince the Canadian public and government that the Soviet version of the truth was false. Canadians simply had no first-hand understanding of the reality of Soviet-style communism.

The Head Executive Board also represents the Canadian branches internationally as a member of the World Federation of Polish Combatants' Associations which is headquartered in London, England. During and after World War Two the Polish diaspora spread around the world and the distribution of national organizations reflects this. The PCA has been active in many countries in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Africa and the Americas.