World War II and the War Measures Act
| 1941 Jan. 7 |
|
A Special Committee of the Cabinet War Committee recommends that
Japanese Canadians not be allowed to volunteer for the armed services
on the grounds that there is strong public opinion against them. |
| 1941 Mar. to Aug. |
 |
Compulsory registration of all Japanese Canadians over 16 years
is carried out by the RCMP. |
| 1941 Dec. 7 |
 |
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. Canada declares war on Japan. Under
the War Measures Act, Order in Council P.C. 9591, all Japanese nationals
and those naturalized after 1922 are required to register with the
Registrar of Enemy Aliens. |
| 1941 Dec. 8 |
 |
1,200 fishing boats are impounded and put under the control of
the Japanese Fishing Vessel Disposal Committee. Japanese language
newspapers and schools closed. Insurance policies are cancelled. |
| 1941 Dec. 16 |
|
P.C. 9760 is passed requiring mandatory registration of all persons
of Japanese origin, regardless of citizenship, with Registrar of
Enemy Aliens. |
| 1942 Jan. 16 |
 |
P.C. 365 designated an area 100 miles inland from the west coast
as a “protected area”. |
| 1942 Feb. 7 |
 |
All male “enemy aliens” between the ages of 18-45 are
forced to leave the protected coastal area before April 1. Most are
sent to work on road camps in the Rockies. Some are sent to Angler. |
| 1942 Feb. 24 |
|
P.C. 1486 empowers the Minister of Justice to control the movements
of all persons of Japanese origin in the protected area. |
| 1942 Feb. 26 |
 |
Notice is issued by the Minister of Justice ordering all persons
of “the Japanese race” to leave the coast. Cars, cameras
and radios confiscated. Dusk-to-dawn curfew is imposed. |
| 1942 Mar. 4 |
 |
B.C. Security Commission is established to plan, supervise and
direct the expulsion of Japanese Canadians.
P.C. 1665 Property and belongings are entrusted to the Custodian
of Enemy Alien Property as a "protective measure only". |
| 1942 Mar. 16 |
 |
First arrival at Vancouver's Hastings Park holding center. All
Japanese Canadian mail is censored from this date. |
| 1942 Mar. 25 |
 |
B.C. Security Commission initiates a program of assigning men to
road camps and women and children to ghost town detention camps. |
| 1942 June 29 |
|
P.C. 5523 - The Director of Soldier Settlement is given authority
to purchase or lease farms owned by Japanese Canadians. He subsequently
buys 572 farms without consulting the owners. |
| 1942 Oct. |
|
22,000 persons of whom 75% are Canadian citizens (60% Canadian
born, 15% naturalized) have been uprooted forcibly from the coast. |
| 1943 Jan. 23 |
 |
Order in Council grants the Custodian of Enemy Alien Property the
right to dispose of Japanese Canadian properties in his care without
the owners' consent. |
| 1944 Aug. 4 |
 |
Prime Minister King states it is desirable that Japanese Canadians
are dispersed across Canada.
Applications for “voluntary repatriation” to Japan are
sought by the Canadian government. Those who do not must move east
of the Rockies to prove their loyalty to Canada. “Repatriation” for many means exile to a country they have never seen before. |
| 1945 Jan. |
 |
150 second generation Japanese Canadians (nisei) are accepted into
the Canadian Intelligence Corps after pressure from the British government. |
| 1945 Sept. 2 |
 |
Japan surrenders after atom bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
All internment camps, except New Denver are ordered closed and settlements
of shacks bulldozed. B.C. Security Commission office in New Denver
closes in 1957. |
