Correspondence 1918-1937

Correspondence 1918-1937

Description

Title Proper PR0553 MS0009 BOX 1 FILE 1
Date(s) of material from this resource digitized 1937
General material designation
From this file, LOI has digitized one textual record or image.
Scope and content
This document is a letter from Chief Constable Foster, Vancouver Police, to G.G. McGeer. Foster provides population and criminal statistics for Chinese and Japanese living in Vancouver. He observes that, in 1936, 1,645 Chinese were arrested compared to 37 Japanese. Foster attributes this disparity to “the fact that the Japanese immediately copy the methods of the country in which they reside, whereas the Chinese retain their own habits.” He notes gambling and narcotic use as predominant offences.
Name of creator
McGeer, Gerald Grattan, 1888-1947 created this archive from his time as an MLA representing Richmond, mayor of Vancouver, and a Senator. This material was given to the archives in 1950 by Mrs. McGeer.
Immediate source of acquisition
The digital copies of the records were acquired by the Landscapes of Injustice Research Collective between 2014 and 2018.
This record was digitized selectively.

Metadata

Title

Correspondence 1918-1937
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Terminology

Readers of these historical materials will encounter derogatory references to Japanese Canadians and euphemisms used to obscure the intent and impacts of the internment and dispossession. While these are important realities of the history, the Landscapes of Injustice Research Collective urges users to carefully consider their own terminological choices in writing and speaking about this topic today as we confront past injustice. See our statement on terminology, and related sources here.