2 A2 - Wednesday, August 19, 1981 - North Shore News The night o of Dec. 7 1941, Canada went to war with Japan. That very same night, the, RCMP began rounding up ° “male Enemy. Aliens” on the West Coast.._ Under the nefarious War Méasures Act—the existence of which con- tinues to make Canada’s claims to be. a_ true democracy quite hollow— the Mounties could round up- anybody they wanted. -Phey chose “Japs.” That is, in the vernacular of the time; anybody who was of Japanese ancestry, regar dless of whether they were naturalized. Canadians or not. Many among the Japanese-Canadians who were detained in internment or prisoner-of-war camps had been born in Canada. Some had fought in Canadian regiments against the Germans in the First World War. Their wives and children were locked up too. Why mention this now? Well, 40 yrs have passed since that dark night of infamy. And so far, the Canadian ° government has shirked any responsibility for the open thefts of property and the patently false arrests that occurred. There has been no attempt at restitution whatsoever. Immediately after Pearl Harbour the government confiscated 1,337 boats, including seiners, trollers, ~gillnetters, packers and cod- “fishers. The Japanese- Canadian owners were told to sét a price, but the boats went to white men and Indians alike for whatever cash they happened to have onhand. . All the “Jap” assets were grabbed, too. At that time .the Japanese people living in Steveston, for instance, had a: total capital in- vestment in homes, property, boats and gear of $810,000, or an average of $1,988 per family. Quite high, when you think that the average net income of a fisherman was $687. Japanese-Canadians who were caught up in the whirlpool of war will agree that it was understandable that “Enemy Aliens’—that is, citizens of Japan shorfid be interned, as, indeed, Germans had been during the previous war. But Canadian citizens? If Canadians of Japanese ancestry can be shipped off to concentration camps, then why not Canadians of Yugoslavian ancestry? Or any other ancestry? There is a fatal flaw in the shield of democratic statutes, which are supposed to protect our freedom, and it is that “damnable War Measures Act. What hap pened. to the Japanese- Canadians in 1941 could happen to any of us in 1981. The Japanese-Canadians of the time reacted with outrage, but since they no longer lhved in a_ free country, there was nothing they could do except stick together and refuse to be separated from their families. They were called Gam- bari-ya, which / means “residence”. In the end, they won the right to have their families interned with them. Others, including plenty of naturalized Canadians, were sent to PoW camps as far away as Ontario, never to see their families until war's end. How do you measure that kind of a loss? You don't. But you can measure the capital losses -- and that raises the question: Why havent the Japanese- Canadians been recom- pensed? oe e Recently, in Washington, D.C., a federal commission began hearings to determine how similar Japanese in- ternment camps happened in America, and whether the U.S. government should offer financial compensation to those who suffered. Called the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Citizens, the nine-member body is delving -into the whole sorry story. Proposals have been made to Fish & Chips 1°? _ 404 LONSDALE 987-4131 Wednesday to Friday Special Aug. 19, 20 & 21 Open 9 A.M. Daily Serving Coffee and Donuts EVERY TUESDAY 6:00 - 10:30 PM Lge. 2°° grant each displaced family $25,000, even though it could cost $3 billion to do even that. And that's peanuts. What's $25,000 worth today compared to the home and fishing boat you might have owned in 1941? There is a Japanese ex- pression, shikata ga nai, which means “so it goes”. But I say the heck with that. If. there is one thing Canadians are good at, it is holding royal commissions. We should open one into the question of what we did to our own citizens back then. And think seriously about how we make up for it. Fires in WV Small summer fires on the beaches and beside the roads kept West Vancouver fire fighters occupied on the weekend. A West Vancouver Fire Department spokesman said there were a number of complaints about beach fires in front of property. He said.that these fires are illegal because the only area in the municipality where beach fires can be set, is a portion of Ambleside Park. MR. MILEAGE MAKER BILL DOCKSTEADER THE BEST __ TOYOTA ~ DEALS IN TOWN! **That’s ~— right,’’ says Mr. Mileage Maker, Bill Dock- steader, Canada's No. 1 import car dealer. ‘“‘Every business day we sell more new and used Toyota cars — all modetis, all col- ours —- and more great Toyota trucks. ‘Right now,’’ we have best-in-town special prices on brand new Toyota 4x4 Diesel Trucks.’’ Oh, what » feeling! Oh, what. vals! at... BILL DOCKSTEADER'S TOYOTA 879-8411 TILL 9 D.L. #6416 FROM THE CANADA EMPLOYMENT CENTRE FOR STUDENTS: TO THE NORTH SHORE BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS » ‘THANK YOU FOR HIRING A STUDENT THIS SUMMER In just five months, the nearly 2400 registered students were able to fill almost 1600- This despite such factors as weather, strikes, and government cutback. Our office closes on August 21st, but the reguiar ‘Canada Employment Centre at 988-1151 will be able to help you with your year-round employment needs. We are looking forward to helping you next summer! 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