Japanese Canadian Internment

In 1941 the “War Measures Act” was used as a basis of internment for Japanese Canadians. The Government of Canada, once again at the beginning of World War 2, interned 22,000 Japanese Canadians. In this case it is almost certain that racism played an important factor. Japanese Canadians were stripped of all their rights as Canadian citizens and as free human beings. They were given special clothing to wear (as if they were in prison) and forced to do manual labor while being humiliated.[1]

In total there were 10 internment camps that were spread all across Canada. The Canadian government had set up 8 internment camps in interior BC. They were in Kaslo, New Denver, Tashme, Roseberry, Slocan City, Lemon Creek, Sandon, and Greenwood. 

Once the bombing of Pearl Harbor commenced, so did the injustices towards Japanese Canadians. The majority of Japanese were situated in British Columbia, which is where the hostility began.

The people of British Columbia wanted the government to rid the province of all of the Japanese people, whom were supposedly the cause of all of their troubles. The prime minister at that time, William Lyon Mackenzie King, wanted the votes of the people of British Columbia, he gladly complied with their demands.

King’s first decree forced all Japanese males between the ages of 14 and 45 to move more than 160 kilometers inland. This was hypothetically a way to prevent Japanese spies from entering through the pacific coast. All boats and ships were taken away form the Japanese fishermen as well.

The conditions in the camp were horrible. Families would be forced to live with as many as 10 other families in a house sharing one stove. Most of them were forced to live in tents until a house became available. The houses were not any better than a tent. They were poorly constructed with no insulation and became almost as cold as the outdoors during wintertime. To add insult to injury, the Japanese were forced to pay for their stay in these camps. 

With elections coming up, Mackenzie King wished to gain the votes of the people of BC and reminded them of the dangers of Japanese Canadians and their possible affiliation with foreign spies. King passed a law stating that the Japanese would face deportation if they did not leave BC.

 
Some Japanese moved out of BC to escape the deportation law. When they moved elsewhere they were not allowed to buy land, it had to be leased and they needed a license to grow crops. Other Japanese Canadians signed forms that forced them to leave Canada after the war was over. 4000-interned Japanese were simply deported to Japan and another 6,000 more were sent away once the war was over.[2]