On December 7, 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the American naval base in Hawaii. This attack brought the war close to North America and created near panic in British Columbia and on the California coast.
The first victims of this growing fear were the Japanese Canadians. About 23,000 of them, not all Canadian born, but almost all citizens, lived in British Columbia. Racism in Canada had existed for a long time, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had raised it to a fever pitch. The federal government in Ottawa was repeatedly told by its officials, the RCMP and by military officers that the Japanese Canadians posed no threat. But the political pressure grew, especially from British Columbia’s representatives in federal cabinet. The government felt obliged to act. The Japanese Canadians were rounded up, deprived of their jobs and property and sent to the interior of BC or to other parts of the country. It was the most shocking violation of basic human rights in Canada during the war.
-Adapted from J. L. Granatstein et al, Twentieth Century Canada, 2nd ed., Toronto McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1986
In our third and final investigation of human rights abuses in Canada, we will examine whether the Canadian government was justified in removing thousands of Canadians of Japanese descent from Canada's west coast to the interior during WWII.
* Refer to the readings in the document in the link below to complete this assignment.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese-internment-banished-and-beyond-tears-feature
Assignment:
Japanese-Canadian Internment - World War II
Name
Terms
Define the following terms:
- internment
- restitution
Questions
Answer the following questions in complete sentences, remembering to provide detail, evidence and quotes to support your answers.
- Discuss how Japanese people had long suffered the sting of racism in Canada even before 1942. [3 marks]
- What was the government's reason for the internment of Japanese-Canadians? [3 marks]
- Describe the experience of a Japanese-Canadian who was interned at this time.
Examine both the immediate and long-term consequences.
[10 marks]
4. Were Japanese-Canadians a genuine threat to Canadian security? Explain. [3 marks]
5. On June 29, 1984, as Japanese-Canadians campaigned for compensation, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau remarked,
"I do not see how I can apologize for some historic event to which we .....were not a party. We can regret that it
happened."
In a short paragraph, discuss to what extent you Agree or Disagree with his statement.
Should we take responsibility for the "sins" of our ancestors? [5 marks]
*As always, if there are any questions or concerns, please post them on this website by clicking on the "Comments" tab (as your question(s) may help others); otherwise, email me your assignment at: [email protected]