F G Shears to H G Hinton Esq., 05 April 1944

F G Shears to H G Hinton Esq., 05 April 1944

5th April, 1944.
H G Hinton Esq. 809-811 Bank of Toronto Building, Victoria, B.C. Dear Sir:
I thank you for your letter of the 1st instant enclosing copy of a letter from Macer Okamoto.
From time to time we receive letters from Japanese protesting the sale of their property, both real estate and chattels, and in some cases from a personal point of view their reason is sound. However, with the policy laid down by Ottawa the complaints become one more of the many hardships falling on those of all nationalities as a result of war conditions.
In regard to your suggestion "(a)" this is already in effect. We have been assured by the British Columbia Security Commission that evacuated Japanese are fully aware of the policy of liquidation of chattels and subject to their approval we are prepared to ship personal effects upon a request prior to auction, the costs being defrayed by the owners.
In regard to suggestion "(b)". While we do not think it desirable to endeavour to arrange for this to be done to any great extent, upon request from the Japanese owner, providing he has no creditors, we have no objection to transferring his goods to a public storage to be taken care of at his own expense or delivered to any other person provided that it is the owner's wish and that we are relieved from further responsibilities.
I expect Mr. McPherson will be here towards the end of the month and there are a few matters of general policy which will be discussed when he arrives.
Yours truly,

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F G Shears to H G Hinton Esq., 05 April 1944

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Encoder: Ariel Merriam
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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.