Japanese Canadians During WWII

Mass Uprooting Shortly after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, some 22,000 men, women and children of Japanese descent were branded "enemy aliens" in their own country. Seventy five percent were Canadians by birth or naturalized citizens but the Government of Canada considered them dangerous to the country because of their racial origin. With the passage of Orders-in-Council under the War Measures Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) denied the Japanese of their basic and human rights. Enemy Alien Card In the spring of 1941, more than six months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the RCMP fingerprinted and photographed all Japanese Canadians over the age of 16. Japanese Canadians were required to carry their registration card at all times until 1949. This card belongs to Yosh Arai. (courtesy of Yosh Arai)

Confiscation and Curfew Immediately after Pearl Harbour, fishing boats were impounded and Japanese language newspapers were closed down. The all-English paper, the New Canadian, was allowed to continue. With the passage of the order to remove all Japanese from the restricted area within the 100 miles of the BC coast, a dusk-todawn curfew was imposed on all Japanese Canadians. The RCMP had the authority to enter homes at will without a warrant. Personal belongings such as cameras, and radios were confiscated and vehicles impounded.

Japanese owned fishing boats were seized.(photo: Public Archives of Canada)

The Royal Canadian Navy takes over. (photo: Public Archives of Canada)

A fisherman ponders his future. (photo: Public Archives of Canada)

Fishing boats impounded at Annieville Dyke on the Fraser River 1941. In all about 1200 boats were seized and sold by order in council during January and February 1942. (photo; Vancouver Public Library)

Line-up of Japanese owned cars and trucks about to be confiscated in Vancouver. These vehicles were sold at auctions without notifying the owners. (photo: Vancouver Public Library)

Government Orders 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. A "Custodian of Enemy Property" was authorized to hold all land and property in trust. Japanese Canadians reading the removal notice posted outside the New Canadian newspaper office on Powell Street. (photo: Vancouver Public Library)

Meal time at a road camp. Men were paid 25 cents an hour, from which board was deducted. (photo: Public Archives of Canada)

Many nisei men were separated from their families and sent to road and lumber camps, as far east as Schreiber, Ontario. (Photo: Vancouver Public Library)

The First order-in-Council The first order-in-council was passed on January 16, 1942, ordering that male Japanese nationals aged 18 to 40 be removed from the protected area and taken to road camps in interior BC.

Removal of all persons of Japanese Racial Origin On February 24, 1942 a new order-in-council was passed authorizing the removal of all persons of Japanese racial origin.

Resistance - Nisei Mass Evacuation Group A group of nisei protested the break-up of families and demanded removal in family units. The BC Security Commission denied the request. The Nisei Mass Evacuation Group became more aggressive and advised men to resist the order to go to road camps. This action caused generational division between the issei and nisei. Refusing to go, the protesters were detained by the RCMP and were sent to a prisoner-ofcamp in Petawawa, Ontario. A death of a fellow inmate at Angler, a prisoner-of-war camp. The large circle made a perfect target should any internee attempt to escape. (photo: Public Archives of Canada)

Internment The Japanese Canadians were given 24 and 48 hours notice by the RCMP to vacate their homes, before being sent to "clearing sites" such as Hastings Park where they were detained until internment camps were prepared. By November 1942 nearly 22,000 people were forced from their homes and sent to various internment projects outside the protected area. Hastings Park Thousands of Japanese Canadians from coastal towns and Vancouver Island were rounded up like cattle and herded into livestock buildings in Vancouvers Hastings Park. Conditions at Hastings Park were degrading and barbaric; women and children were segregated from the men and forced to live in cattle stalls.

Childrens dining room at Hastings Park.

In an attempt to create privacy, women and children hung blankets and sheets around their bunks. (photo: Vancouver Public Library)

Mens dormitory at Hastings Park. (photo: Vancouver Public Library)

Internment Centres Japanese Canadians were sent to various forms of camps in the B.C. interior and northern Ontario. Road camp projects Between March and June 1942 some 2000 men were placed at various road camps working on road construction projects. By October 1942 many were allowed to join families in the interior internment camps. Internment camps The vast majority of Japanese Canadians, 12,000, were sent to camp locations in B.C. interior, which were often isolated by mountains. Initially, they were housed in tents until the hastily built shacks and buildings, or hotels in abandoned or ghost towns, were ready for occupancy. Self Supporting projects - With permission from the BC Security Commission a small group of internees went to self supporting projects. They had to pay for their transportation, housing materials and living expenses but the families were able to stay together. Prisoner of war camps Community leaders with influence and men who showed the slightest resistance to the uprooting were interned in these camps located at Petawawa and Angler, Ontario. Some 700 males were imprisoned, many for the duration of the war. Map of the internment centers

During the first winter at Slocan, many Japanese Canadians had to live in tents. (photo: Vancouver JCCA, Redress Committee)

Housing at Tashme, BC, built for the internees.

A family inside an internment shack lived in crowded conditions. Two families shared a house. (photo: Public Archives of Canada)

Identical 28 by 14 shacks were built in large numbers in the BC internment camps. (photo: Public Archives of Canada)

Aerial view of Lemon Creek. (photo: Vancouver JCCA, Redress Committee)

Sugar Beet Farms With the shortage of labourers for sugar beet farms in Southern Alberta and Manitoba arrangements made between the Sugar Beet Growers and the government permitted Japanese families go to sugar beet farms as a family unit. About 4000 internees opted for the farms but found the conditions extremely harsh and primitive.

An advertisement for Japanese Canadian sugar beet workers. (courtesy of Heather Robertson, Sugar Farmers of Manitoba)

Able bodied men and women, young and old worked long hours on the southern Alberta sugar beet farm. Many families were unused to farm labour. (photo: K. Sam Nishiyama, Toronto)

Ooto, Miki and Hayakawa families were uprooted from Haney, B.C. to Ste. Agathe, a small French Canadian town, to work on the sugar beet farm. (photo: Shizuko Miki) A sugar beet workers house in Ste. Agathe where three families shared four rooms. (photo: Shizuko Miki)

Paying for the Internment Despite the governments promise to hold the property in trust, the Custodian of Enemy Property sold the confiscated properties without owners consent. Proceeds were used to pay for administrative costs of the sale and living expenses of the internees. Japanese Canadians paid for their own internment. World War II Veterans In 1942, a small number of Japanese Canadians were already in the Canadian army fighting for freedom while their families back in Canada were losing their basic rights. Japanese Canadians in B.C. who tried to enlist after war began were denied the right to join the army. The B.C. Premier of that time vehemently opposed the enlistment of Asians. Only in January 1945, after the British government asked Japanese Canadians to join the British army as interpreters did the Canadian government allow them to enlist.

Canadian nisei in India, 1945. They served in the Far East attached to British units as interpreters and translators. About 200 nisei joined during World War II. (photo: Ray Takeuchi, Toronto)

End of War The war ended in 1945 after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The government now faced the problem of what to do with the internees. Sent into Exile In the spring of 1945, before the end of the war, the Japanese were threatened with further expulsion. The option given was either dispersal to places east of the Rockies or repatriated to Japan. Initially, 10,000 Japanese Canadians signed for repatriation, many out of fear, or misguided loyalty to Canada. However, with growing opposition to deportation by many Canadian groups, the government withdrew the policy. By this time in 1947, 4000 Japanese Canadians had left Canada; 2000 were Canadian born. The so-called repatriation order that would lead to exiling of some 4000 Japanese Canadians to Japan.

Young children had no choice but to accompany their parents to warravaged Japan, a country foreign to them. (photo: JCCC Collection)

Those repatriating to Japan gather at Slocan City station in 1946, on their first part of the journey: the train to Vancouver. (photo: JCCC Collection)

Dispersal The dispersal policy forced Japanese Canadians out of B.C. permanently. The government justified their action by stating that it was in the best interest for 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. This policy of cultural genocide resulted in the loss of language, identity and sense of community and has had a lasting effect on Japanese Canadians. Formation of a National Japanese Canadian Organization In 1947 the National Japanese Canadian Citizens Association (NJCCA) was formed and became the voice for Japanese Canadians in the struggle for the franchise. The NJCCA objected to the limited terms

of the Bird Commission and assisted individuals with Bird Commission claims. The NJCCA became the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) in 1980. Preparing for NJCCA Fund Drive. The NJCCA formed in 1947 to seek compensation for losses resulting from wartime uprooting. (photo: New Canadian).

Bird Commission In 1950, the Justice Henry Bird recommended $1.2 million to be awarded to Japanese Canadians as compensation for their property losses. After legal fees were deducted, this represented a mere $52 per person. Many Japanese Canadians felt compelled to accept the offer; others did not even file a claim. Many saw the results of the Bird Commission as a further injustice that left the way open for further redress. Restrictions Lifted in 1949 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. Contrary to popular belief, Japanese Canadians were never a threat to national security. The RCMP and the military officials advised the government against uprooting and internment orders. The basis for injustices inflicted upon Japanese Canadians was racism and political and economic opportunism. Citizenship certificate belonging to Kazuo Miki, born in Canada. (courtesy Art Miki)

Life in the Camps The internment centers were self-contained communities and a system of governance emerged. Each street had a tonari gumi, a neighbourhood group of men, who were responsible for the welfare of the group. Representatives from each street block were selected to mediate disputes and organize work parties to service the needs of the residents of that street. This governance model worked effectively and was instrumental in keeping peace and unity within the community. Renewal The post war period, from 1945 until the 1977 Japanese Canadian Centennial, was a crucial period for the Japanese Canadian community. It was a time for victims of the internment to begin rebuilding their shattered lives. Japanese Canadians took whatever employment available, often laborious and unfulfilling jobs. Parents sacrificed their personal welfare to ensure that their children were well educated and had opportunities that they never had. It was the time that the arrival of post war immigrants or ijusha from Japan added another dimension to the Japanese Canadian community. The ijusha were better educated, more proactive, and eager to help strengthen our heritage and cultural values, which had been weakened through the wartime experience. Ijusha continue to play an important role in the renewal of the Japanese Canadian community through their leadership and contributions. A changing characteristic of the Japanese Canadian community is the assimilation of the younger generations and the high rate of intermarriage. As a result, the population of peoples of mixed backgrounds is growing at a significant rate, putting a different face and emphasis on what the Japanese Canadian community will be in the future. Japanese Canadian Centennial Year 1977 A pivotal landmark in the history of Japanese Canadians is the centennial in 1977 that celebrated the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to Canada, Manzo Nagano. The National Japanese Canadian Centennial Society was established to coordinate activities across Canada. With representatives from across Canada, the Centennial Society was led by chairperson, Roger Obata, and executive director, Toyo Takata. For Japanese Canadians it was an opportunity to celebrate their history by unraveling the past and recognizing the contributions made by the issei and nisei to their community and Canada. It was a time for self-discovery. Enthusiasm and interest grew through the many local and national events such as the National Odori Tour and the photographic exhibit "The Japanese Canadians 1877-1977" that traveled across Canada. The multitude of events created awareness among Canadians and Japanese Canadians of the contributions made by Japanese Canadians to Canadian society. Furthermore, the process of facing the past and questioning the events that occurred during the war years became the catalyst for the National Association of Japanese Canadians to undertake the redress campaign.

designed by Art Irizawa. The white maple leaf superimposed on the red cherry blossom depicts the dual culture of the Nikkei in Canada. Call for Redress In the 1970s, government wartime files were opened to the public. Such access made it possible for the public to review the governments decisions and actions during the war. In her book, The Politics of Racism, historian Ann Sunahara revealed what many in the Japanese Canadian community had felt all along the Japanese in Canada were never a threat to national security. This fact was confirmed by military and RCMP documents. Rather, the governments wartime actions were based on anti-Asian and racist sentiments of the time. The war was an opportunity for the government to use political means to respond to the Japanese problem. The wrongs of the past were being exposed. The call for redress in Canada was influenced by the actions in the United States in the early 1980s. By 1983, the NAJC had begun to explore redress possibilities. American Experience In 1980, the Unites States Congress established the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to assess the wartime uprooting and incarceration of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. Testimonies were heard across the country from many Japanese Americans. Gordon Hirabayashi was one of several young Japanese Americans who were imprisoned for breaking curfew and defying the orders imposed on Japanese Americans. In February 1983 the Commissions report, Personal Justice Denied, recommended a public apology and a compensation of $20,000 for each uprooted Japanese American. This sparked media interest in redress for Japanese Canadians.

Manzanar War Relocation Center, situated in California near the eastern Sierras, grew into a barbed wire city of over 10,000 Japanese Americans. (photo: Ansel Adams)

Under looming guard towers,a group of evacuees enter the Tule Lake, detention centre. Ten such camps scattered in seven Western states confined 120,000 Japanese Americans and aliens. (photo: private collection)

NAJC Redress Actions In September 1983, a NAJC conference was convened to ratify the National Redress Committees proposal to seek group compensation. The debate became heated and the delegates decided to put aside the redress position and develop a more democratic process of determining appropriate redress. In January 1984, the NAJC developed a redress mandate, asking the government for a negotiated settlement that would include an official acknowledgment of the injustices; compensation for the suffering of individuals and the devastation of the Japanese Canadian community on the west coast; and legislative changes to prevent a recurrence of a violation to basic rights.

The Liberal government under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau rejected the NAJC claim for redress. Brian Mulroney in reaction to Trudeau promised, If it were the Conservative government, I can assure you we would be compensating Japanese Canadians. (Globe and Mail, May 16, 1984) When the Progressive Conservatives won a sweeping victory in the fall election, there was renewed hope as the NAJC requested a meeting with the government to pursue redress. On November 21, 1984, the NAJC submitted a brief called Democracy Betrayed: The Case for Redress that called on the government to acknowledge the injustices suffered by Japanese Canadians during and after World War II, to enter into negotiations, and entrench equality rights in the Charter. Redress Campaign The 1980s marked a period of renewal for the fight for redress. The JCCP created a redress committee to advocate redress and to educate Japanese Canadians and Canadians on the wartime injustices. In 1982, the group sponsored community forums that attracted the attention of the media. By 1984, the NAJC initiated a process that would see them deal with internal community struggles of leadership, the mobilization of the community around a compensation package and the negotiation process with the government. The most difficult aspect of the campaign in the early stages was to develop a unified national voice for redress. Groups opposing the NAJC position surfaced in Toronto and Vancouver. Wes Fujiwara, who innocently waded into the conflict in Toronto, was a strong voice along with other leaders to bring peace and unity. Toward the end of the campaign, the NAJC would gain the support of many Canadians from all walks of life. Equality Now! Report In March 1984, the Special Committee on Visible Minorities in Canadian Society, an all-party committee commissioned by the House of Commons, released its report Equality Now!. The arguments presented in the report were justification that the wrong done to Japanese Canadians must be rectified. For Japanese Canadians, the reports recommendations for redress and call for review of the War Measures Act was heartening and was further ammunition for the NAJC to seek redress. The report also raised public awareness of the redress issue. In response to the recommendations, Prime Minister Trudeau dismissed redress for Japanese Canadians. The Minister of State for Multiculturalism, Hon. David Collenette stated that the government would not issue an official acknowledgement but would express regret along with a token $5 million foundation to combat racism. National Redress Survey In April 1986, the NAJC conducted a national survey of Japanese Canadians to determine their views on redress. The results showed strong support for compensation as an element in the settlement. All centres favoured individual compensation. The results disputed the government claims that Japanese Canadians did not support individual compensation. FORMS OF COMPENSATION FAVOURED BY RESPONDENTS

Economic Losses Study The need to estimate of the economic losses resulting from the uprooting and dispossession of Japanese Canadians became necessary in order to justify a meaningful compensation. The government refused to be involved with the study. Although a fund-raising campaign was undertaken in the Japanese Canadian community, the NAJC was unable to finance this substantial research. The president of Price Waterhouse in Vancouver was sympathetic to the redress movement and agreed to conduct the economic losses study for a small contingency fee with the understanding that if the NAJC achieved a redress settlement, fees would be paid. The researchers used the documents and files in the Custodians archives. The Price Waterhouse report, Economic Losses of Japanese Canadians after 1941, was released on May 8, 1986. It concluded that from 1941 to 1949, Japanese Canadians suffered an economic loss of not less than $443 million (in 1986 dollars) - $333 million in income and $110 in property. NAJC Redress Proposal 1986 With the Price Waterhouse study and the redress survey completed, the NAJC designed a just and honourable settlement proposal at a crucial meeting in Winnipeg in May 1986 NAJC REDRESS PROPOSAL

Parade of Ministers Redress negotiations spanned five years with two different governments and five successive Ministers of State for Multiculturalism. June 1984: The Honourable David Collenette expressed regret on behalf of the Liberal government for the treatment of Japanese Canadians during and after World War II and offered a $5 million foundation to fight racism. December 15, 1984: A joint press release announced that an agreement to negotiate redress had been reached with the NAJC and the government through the Honourable Jack Murta, the Minister of State for Multiculturalism.

January 1985: Mr. Murta reneged on his commitment to negotiate with the NAJC and refused compensation to Japanese Canadians, offering instead a $6 million fund to memorialize the mistreatment of Japanese Canadians. When the NAJC refused the offer, he threatened to act unilaterally but backed down because of strong public opposition. August 1985 to July 1986: The Honourable Otto Jelinek, who replaced Mr. Murta, refused to negotiate. Instead, he held firm with Mr. Murtas offer. In January 1986, Mr. Jelinek threatened to act unilaterally but backed down because of opposition from the NAJC, media and other concerned Canadians. Mr. Jelinek refused to consider the redress proposal submitted to the government in May 1985 and ruled out negotiations with the NAJC. July 1986 to March 1988: The Honourable David Crombie became the next Minister of State for Multiculturalism. After eight months of studying the redress issue, Mr. Crombie in a letter to NAJC offered a $12 million community fund but refused to negotiate. After the NAJC refused the take it or leave it offer, talks reached an impasse. April 1988: The Honourable Gerry Weiner became the fifth Minister to deal with the Japanese Canadian redress file. Honourable Jack Murta

Historic meeting between NAJC Council and government officials representing Hon. Jack Murta, November 1984. (photo: NAJC)

Honourable Otto Jelinek

Art Miki at a meeting with Mr. Jelinek, January 1986. (photo: Bryce Kanbara)

Honourable David Crombie

Mr. Crombie meeting with the Vancouver JCCA Redress Committee, January 1987. (photo: Tony Tamayose)

National Coalition After the breakdown of talks with Mr. Crombie, the NAJC Strategy Committee met to develop a plan to rejuvenate public interest in redress as a Canadian human rights issue. The NAJC would seek broad-based support for a negotiated settlement, including individual compensation to Japanese Canadians affected by the governments actions. A blueprint was drawn for the formation of a coalition that consisted of a broad cross-section of individuals, ethnic organizations, unions, professional organizations, and religious and cultural groups. Writers Margaret Atwood, June Callwood, Pierre Berton and former Justice of the B.C. Supreme Court Thomas Berger were among the first to join. A series of rallies were planned in major NAJC centres culminating with a massive rally on Parliament Hill. The Multicultural Rally in Toronto in October 1987 received tremendous support from fifteen national ethnic organizations and the National Coalition for Japanese Canadian Redress was formed. David Murata, a bilingual Japanese Canadian, was designated to seek individuals and organizations to lend support to the Coalition and to coordinate the Ottawa Rally in April 1988.

Ethnic leaders speaking in support of the NAJC at the Multicultural Rally in Toronto October 1987. (photo: Toronto Chapter NAJC)

Ottawa Redress Rally On April 14, 1988, busloads of senior Japanese Canadians from across Canada came together in Ottawa to call for the government to resolve the redress issue through a negotiated settlement with the NAJC. As they marched on Parliament Hill, some carried placards with slogans, others carried Ribbons of Hope that listed names of Japanese Canadians who were unable to attend but donated so that others could march in their place. The redress forum took place in the Confederation Room in the West Block of the Parliament buildings. Hundreds jammed into the room. As members of the National Coalition for Japanese Canadian Redress addressed the large gathering of mostly seniors, it became clear that Japanese Canadians were not alone in the struggle for redress. Speakers representing ethnic communities, civil rights organizations and religious associations urged the government to recognize redress as a human rights issue. The Honourable Gerry Weiner attended and offered his willingness to reopen talks with the NAJC, but many Japanese Canadians were sceptical of his promise. In front of the podium lay piles of campaign postcards with some 15,000 signatures of Canadians in support of a just and honourable settlement. The Ottawa Rally was the high point of the redress campaign and received powerful media coverage. It was the first time Japanese Canadians exerted their democratic rights en masse to demand justice in our time. Final Negotiation Meeting The new Ministers offer to meet with the NAJC resulted in a meeting in June 1988 with Hon. Gerry Weiner and his staff, Dennison Moore and Rick Clippendale. The atmosphere at this meeting was more congenial and positive. Mr. Weiner indicated that all issues were open for discussion and that the government was willing to consider individual compensation. In mid August 1988, Chief of Staff Dennison Moore contacted the NAJC indicating that the government was eager to resolve redress directly with the NAJC. In late August, under a veil of secrecy, the NAJC strategy team met in Montreal with the government team led by Mr. Weiner. A surprise visitor to the negotiation meeting was Secretary of State Lucien Bouchard, a close confidant of the Prime Minister. Mr. Bouchards presence and comments were a clear indication that the Prime Minister wanted the redress issue resolved. After two days of proposals and counter-proposals, the NAJC strategy team reached agreement on the main components of the redress package. The following day, after clarifying the specific terms, NAJC Vice-president Roger Obata and Mr. Weiner signed a tentative pact. In order for the Prime Minister to determine the appropriate time for the announcement in the House of Commons, all the negotiation participants agreed to keep the agreement in confidence until the Prime Minister was ready to make the official statement.

The agreement was reached late in the evening of August 25, 1988.(photo: Cassandra Kobayashi)

Gerry Weiner and Roger Obata signing the tentative agreement. (photo: Cassandra Kobayashi)

NAJC and government negotiators. (photo: Cassandra Kobayashi)

Lucien Bouchard, Secretary of State, with Rick Clippendale, opening negotiations. (photo: Cassandra Kobayashi)

Redress Agreement NAJC President Art Miki received word from Minister Weiners office on September 21 that members of the NAJC strategy team should go to Ottawa immediately for an important announcement on redress in the House of Commons on September 22, 1988. Announcement in the House On September 22, 1988, at 11:00 a.m., Prime Minister Brian Mulroney rose in the House of Commons to acknowledge the past injustices suffered by Canadians of Japanese ancestry and announced that a comprehensive redress settlement had been reached with the National Association of Japanese Canadians. His words brought tears of joy to the Japanese Canadians sitting in the visitors gallery. The government had finally absolved Japanese Canadians of any wrong doings during the war. The Honourable Edward Broadbent, leader of the New Democratic Party, praised the government for reaching an agreement on redress. To describe the impact of the internment personally, Ed Broadbent read a moving passage from the book Obasan with author Joy Kogawa sitting in the gallery. In achieving this redress settlement, the NAJC pays tribute to all Canadians who shared the Japanese Canadian dream of justice in our time. Over the past five years, the internment story has been kept alive by informed and attentive reporters from all media, and editorials from major newspapers have commented thoughtfully on the crucial developments in the NAJCs campaign for a just and honourable settlement. The victory for justice and human rights is also a victory for the democratic process. From the NAJC Press Release, September 22, 1988 Terms of the Agreement The main features of the redress agreement were: official acknowledgement of the injustices inflicted on Canadians of Japanese ancestry during and after World War II; an offer of symbolic redress payments of $21,000 to eligible Canadians of Japanese ancestry living when the agreement was signed, who were relocated, interned and/or deported during and following World War II, simply because of their ancestry. $12 million for the Japanese Canadian community to be administered by the National Association of Japanese Canadians for activities to promote the educational, social, and cultural well-being of the community or that promote human rights; $12 million, on behalf of Japanese Canadians and in commemoration of those who suffered these injustices, and matched by a further $12 million from the Government of Canada, for the creation of a Canadian Race Relations Foundation that will foster racial harmony and cross cultural understanding and help eliminate racism;

 an offer to accept requests to clear the names of Japanese Canadian convicted under the War Measures Act and applications for citizenship: up to $3 million to the National Association of Japanese Canadians for their assistance, including community liaison, in administration of redress over the period of implementation. The governments Acknowledgement.

Signing of the Redress Agreement After the historic announcement in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and NAJC President Art Miki officially signed the redress agreement before the media, politicians and supporters. Following the signing ceremony, guests and politicians joined in a reception held in the Parliament Building before moving to the National Press Gallery for a press conference.

The Timing was Right! A number of factors came together that forced the government to reconsider the take it or leave it attitude imposed upon the NAJC by Mr. Crombie. Following the Redress Rally in Ottawa circumstances affecting the Japanese Canadian redress changed. On August 10, 1988, US President Ronald Reagan signed the American redress bill giving Japanese Americans compensation of $20,000 for individuals who were removed to concentration camps. The Canadian government would have difficulty ignoring this clear precedent on individual compensation. . With talk of a federal election looming, pressure mounted in the House of Commons as opposition critics challenged the Prime Minister to keep his 1984 promise to compensate Japanese Canadians. . A national opinion poll showed that a majority of Canadians supported redress. The ability of the NAJC to say No to unacceptable redress offers or to threats by the government in terminating the negotiation process. Fortunately, the political climate was ripe for a resolution as the above factors merged together, creating tremendous pressure for the government to enter into redress negotiation. The timing was right. Impact of the Redress Settlement What has been the impact of the redress settlement? For Japanese Canadians who suffered the confiscation, internment and dispersal, the announcement of the redress settlement lifted their feelings of guilt as many had blamed themselves for the governments actions. For many, the settlement has finally given them peace of mind. Redress has restored a sense of identity and pride in being Japanese. Redress has revitalized the Japanese Canadian community with the building of seniors facilities and cultural centers, places where Japanese Canadians now gather. The settlement is seen as a precedent for legal and civil actions involving government decisions affecting the rights of other Canadians. Implementation of the Redress Agreement There were many components that the NAJC had to consider in the implementation of the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement that was signed on September 22, 1988. These areas were: the individual redress payments of $21,000 to eligible Canadians of Japanese ancestry, the $12 million community fund and the establishment of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.