Japanese Internment in Canada During World War II

1. Japanese Internment in Canada During World War II

2. Key Concepts • Pearl Harbour • War Measures Act • Japanese Internment (Canada) • Brian Mulroney (Response on Internment)

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. Japanese Internment Camps in Canada

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Overview of the Canadian Japanese Internment Camps • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z88zRES6wcw

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. Brian Mulroney Apologizes CBC News: Apology to Japanese Canadians • http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/clips/1621/

17. 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