Key Concepts

Pearl Harbour War Measures Act Japanese Internment (Canada) Brian Mulroney (Response on

Internment)

Overview At the start of World War II,

approximately 23,000 people of Japanese descent lived in Canada, mostly in British Columbia. 75% held Canadian citizenship and over

13,000 were Japanese-Canadians (they were born in Canada).

Most Japanese-Canadians were hard workers, owned land, and paid taxes.

Pearl Harbour On December 7, 1941,

Japanese planes attacked and destroyed the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The damage was extensive: 19 naval vessels were

damaged or sunk 188 American aircrafts 2,300 soldiers killed 1,109 are wounded

Canada Declares War on Japan Canada declared war on Japan

in December of 1941.

On December 25, 1941 at the Battle of Hong Kong, Japan surrenders.

Canadian soldiers paid a heavy price. Total soldiers sent: 1,975 550 were killed, or died in prison

camps 493 wounded

Fears of a Japanese invasion continued to spread along the Pacific Coast.

The Japanese in Canada The Japanese had always

experienced racism in British Columbia.

White people enacted various laws prohibiting Japanese workers from working on provincial projects.

Many Japanese worked in the fishing industry, causing Canadians to express fear that Japanese fishermen were charting the coastline for the Japanese navy.

As a result, 1,200 Japanese fishing boats were confiscated by the Government of Canada.

The Canadian War Measures Act Bowing to public pressure,

the Government of Canada issued the War Time Measures Act on February 24, 1942, forcing Japanese-Canadians and Japanese in Canada into “protective areas” (i.e., internment camps) for “their own safety”.

The act “gave the government sweeping powers to ensure the security, defence, peace, order, and welfare of Canada.”

All property that could not be carried would be taken into “protective custody.” These items effectively became the property of the Canadian government.

Japanese Internment Begins Families were separated. Men were

usually forced into one camp, while women and children entered another camp many kilometers away.

Those unwilling to live in internment camps or relocation centres faced the possibility of deportation to Japan.

The Japanese did not resist the internment.

Japanese Internment Begins There were ten internment camps

in Canada. The camps included:

Three road camps Two Prisoner of War (POW) camps Five self- supporting camps scattered

throughout Canada

Camp living conditions were poor.

There was no electricity or running water available.

Japanese Internment Camps in Canada

Conditions of Japanese Internment Under the pretence of homeland protection, Japanese-

Canadians were: (1) Denied their basic rights (2) Issued special clothing(3) Stripped of their personal belongings and

property(4) Relocated into camps.(5) Forced into manual labour

As well, Japanese schools were closed, Japanese newspapers were shut down and a dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed.

On March 25, 1942, the British Columbia Security Commission forced men into road camps and women and children into “ghost town” detention camps.

These actions were similar to the Nazi impoverishment and relocation of Jews to ghettos prior to WWII.

Conditions in the Camps Two families

minimum lived together in small areas equipped with two bedrooms and a kitchen.

Hundreds of women and children resided in livestock buildings and slept on straw covered beds.

Conditions were so poor that the Red Cross had to provide aid.

Overview of the Canadian Japanese Internment Camps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z88zRES6wcw

World War II Ends In 1945, the Canadian

government forced the Japanese Canadians to either move back Japan, loosing their Canadian citizenship, or to move to Eastern Canada.

Even though the war was over,

it was illegal for Japanese Canadians to return to Vancouver until 1949.

Public protest would eventually stop the deportations, but not before 4000 Japanese left the country.

Canada Acknowledges Its Wrong Doings

On September 22, 1988, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney offered a formal apology from Canada to the internees.

The Canadian government also provided compensation. The package included: (1) $21,000 to all surviving

internees. (2) The re-instatement of

Canadian citizenship to those who were deported to Japan.

Brian Mulroney Apologizes

CBC News: Apology to Japanese Canadians

http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/clips/1621/

Reflecting on the Camps Today - Nikkei Internment

Memorial Centre On July 31, 2010, Parks Canada

honoured the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre located in New Denver, B.C.

This centre still features some of the

huts and shacks that were used for 1,500 Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War.

This is important because interment camps were a significant part of Canada’s history and is something that should not be forgotten.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20100731/japanese-internment-camp-100731#ixzz1eUHZUswj