As recounted in "None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 1933–1948", during his time as Minister, Atkey was instrumental in the decision to grant 50,000 Vietnamese boat people asylum in Canada in 1979, during the Southeast Asian refugee crisis. Atkey was influenced by an early manuscript copy of the book "None is Too Many", which revealed Canada's racist attitude toward Jews trying to enter Canada during the Holocaust. As a result, Canada's participation in resolving his crisis was a model for the world.