Japanese Canadian Internment Analysis

Canada’s reputation on the world stage is one that is peerless, or at least it would be were it not for the Japanese-Canadian internment. Canada, a country of equality, racial acceptivity, and of ideal human rights, was one of the countries that participated in the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. Canada's decision to intern had many impacts, and not simply on the Japanese, but also on Canada. The Internment of Japanese-Canadians, during the Second World War, directly impacted Canada’s identity in a negative way by molding it into one that was racially intolerant. Canada’s identity was negatively affected due to the fact that the internment showed Canada as a country destitute of proper human rights, a people with

To commence, the first right of the Japanese excused by Canada was the right to live where one pleases. The Canadian government, specifically Prime Minister Mackenzie King, utilized the War Measure Act to force Japanese from the ages of 18-45 from a 100-mile deep area along the coast into internment camps and did not allow them to leave (Quinlan, Don, et al.). Even after the war, the Japanese were given two options; deportation or moving away from the west to the east. In total, 4000 Japanese left for Japan, a land they never lived in (Marsh). This mass exodus of Japanese was supposedly done to separate the Japanese from the whites and relieve ‘interracial conflicts’ which could lead to major problems. However, it was more so conducted in order to please the British Colombians and help Mackenzie King gain votes in B.C. Also, the fact that all Japanese were moved while only Italian men were displaced further proves the prejudice towards the Japanese. Furthermore, another right of the Japanese exonerated by the government was the right to property. An order in council, which was passed in January 1943, allowed the Custodian of Enemy Property to sell all Japanese property and

It portrayed Canada as a country which lacks and easily excuses its human rights. This is because the Japanese were treated inhumanely, that is, in a way that ignored their human rights. Likewise, Canadians, due to the Japanese-Internment, were portrayed as a people who lack an accepting nature, specifically towards non-whites. This is due to the fact that there was racism towards the Japanese as well as major decisions being made regarding the Japanese based upon race. Furthermore, the Japanese-Canadian internment displayed Canada as a nation lacking equality due to the abolishment of the civil rights of the Japanese. This is not only due to the fact that the Japanese lost their right to live where they please but also their right to property and education while other non-Japanese still retained these rights. With all of these independent ways that Canada or Canadians are negatively portrayed, one can conclude that in fact, the Japanese-Canadian internment negatively affected Canada's identity. To conclude, the internment of Japanese-Canadians plagued Canada's identity and molded it into one that would be remembered as racially