Was the decision by the Canadian government to evacuate Japanese Canadians justified? Historical Perspective

Was the decision by the Canadian government to evacuate Japanese Canadians justified? Historical Perspective

Japanese Immigration and Discrimination By 1901 nearly 5000 Japanese were living in Canada, however, unlike Chinese immigrants, a head tax was not imposed on Japanese immigrants. Most of the early immigrants found employment in logging and lumber mills, mining, fishing or farming; however there were others who started businesses or were well educated members of the aristocratic class. Anti-Asian sentiment quickly grew within the white community. On September 7, 1907 the Asiatic Exclusion League (AEL) organized a parade in Vancouver that quickly turned into a riot- started against the Chinese then turned toward the Japanese (fought back and forced the league to retreat)

Japanese Immigration and Discrimination- Post 1907 In 1908 one year after the Anti-Asian Riots, the governments of Japan and Canada negotiated the Hayashi-Lemieux Gentlemen s Agreement that restricted Japanese immigration to 400 male immigrants and domestic servants per year. In 1928 the number of male immigrants allowed per year was reduced to 150. Japanese could attend university but because they could not vote they were not allowed to enter professions such as law, education, pharmacy and accounting and they could not work for the provincial or federal government. Japanese were not eligible for social assistance and often had their forestry and fishing licenses and permits restricted.

Despite the daily prejudice, 196 Japanese-Canadians volunteered to fight for Canada in World War I, of which 54 were killed, 93 were wounded and only 49 returned home safely

Fear of Japanese Attack White Canadians fear of Japanese aggression and expansionism increased in 1931 after Japan invaded Manchuria (a province of China) and then attacked the rest of mainland China in 1937. Several civic leaders and members of the press discussed and tried to promote the ties between Japanese-Canadians and the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces. From March to August 1941, six months before Canada went to war with Japan, all Japanese-Canadians aged 16 and older were forced to register with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (R.C.M.P.) and carry an identification card at all times. After the successful Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and many other locations in the Pacific on December 7, 1941, Canadian newspapers discussed the possibility of a Japanese invasion of Canada s west coast. Prime Minister Mackenzie King questioned the loyalty of the Japanese-Canadians during a radio broadcast seven hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

When war was declared with Japan on December 8, 1941, there were 23 224 Japanese living in Canada. Of these, 14 119 were Nisei (second-generation Canadian born), 3159 were naturalized as Canadian citizens, and 6000 were still Japanese citizens. A small number of Japanese-Canadians were able to join the Canadian army before war was declared with Japan.

Fear of Japanese Attack At the beginning of World War II, the Canadian government passed the War Measures Act that gave the government the power to arrest and detain people suspected of being enemies of the state, including enemy aliens- after Pearl Harbour 22,000 branded The government took several steps to deal with the issue. From December 8, 1941-January 12, 1942, Order in Council PC9760 was passed and carried out. Japanese-Canadians were forbidden from fishing for the duration of the war. 1200 boats were impounded and later sold at auction for rock-bottom prices. Japanese-language newspapers and schools were shut down and all cameras and shortwave radios were confiscated and vehicles were impounded. As the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces continued to conquer territory after territory in the Pacific throughout 1942 and stories emerged about the mistreatment of Canadian soldiers in Japanese prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) camps following their capture in the Battle for Hong Kong, anti-japanese feelings in Canada grew stronger

Internment In January 1942, a 161 km strip along British Columbia s west coast was designated a protected area. On March 4, 1942, the BC Security Commission was established to carry out the "systematic expulsion of the Japanese from the area within 100 miles of the BC coast. As a protective measure all individuals of Japanese heritage were ordered by the RCMP to leave the protected area within 24-48 hours and turn over their property and belongings to the Custodian of Enemy Alien Property. Each person was allowed one suitcase each, and 150 pounds of clothing, bedding and cooking utensils (kids were allowed 75 pounds). A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed on all Japanese-Canadians and the RCMP had the authority to enter homes at will without a warrant. Thousands of Japanese-Canadians from the 161 km exclusion zone were sent to "clearing sites" such as the Pacific National Exhibition (P.N.E.) grounds at Hastings Park where they were held in livestock buildings until internment camps were prepared. Any men who showed the slightest resistance were imprisoned and sent to P.O.W. camps located at Petawawa and Angler, Ontario. Some men remained there for the duration of the war.

Internment Between March and June 1942 2000 men were placed at various road camps throughout the interior of B.C. working on road construction projects. By October 1942 many were allowed to join their families in the interior internment camps. The vast majority of Japanese-Canadians (over 12 000), were sent to isolated camp locations in the B.C. interior and housed in tents until the hastily built shacks and buildings, or abandoned hotels in ghost towns, were ready. With the shortage of labourers during the war, sugar beet growers in Southern Alberta and Manitoba made arrangements to allow Japanese families to go to sugar beet farms as a family unit, and about 4000 Japanese-Canadians opted to work on the farms. With permission from the BC Security Commission a small group of internees were allowed to go to self supporting projects where they had to pay for their transportation, housing materials and living expenses in return for allowing families to stay together.

End of Internment In the spring of 1945, before the end of the war, the Japanese were given the option of dispersal to towns east of the Rockies, or to be repatriated back to Japan. Initially, 10,000 Japanese-Canadians chose repatriation, however, after growing opposition from many Canadian groups the government withdrew the deportation policy. By 1947, 4000 Japanese-Canadians were deported from Canada, 2000 of whom were Canadian born. The government justified the dispersal policy by stating that it was in the best interest of Japanese-Canadians to distribute their numbers as widely as possible throughout the country where they will not create feelings of racial hostility suggesting that Japanese-Canadians were responsible for creating racism. On April 1, 1949, four years after the war ended, the last of the wartime restrictions were lifted allowing Japanese-Canadians to travel freely and return to the West Coast. A year earlier Japanese-Canadians were able to apply for citizenship and gain the right to vote.