1939-1952

Lesson 3: DISPOSSESSION

Landscapes of Injustice tells a story of the loss of home. It is about fear, racism, and measures taken in the name of security that made no one safer. It is also about the resilience of Japanese Canadians confronting injustice.

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Voices of Protest

The policy of forced sales evolved slowly and was enacted through a series of steps through Orders-in-Council (O.I.C). O.I.C. PC 1665 began the shift toward wholesale forced sales but did not enact it, while O.I.C. PC 2483 strengthened the promise to protect the property of Japanese Canadians in the midst of uprooting and internment. Japanese Canadians had concerns about the safeguards being taken for their property. Concerned with the potential for unrest, disobedience and an orderly uprooting the government enacted O.I.C. PC 2483. This lesson examines that enactment.

SUGGESTED TIME: 60 MINUTES

Teaching Instructions

  1. Intro/Icebreaker: Ask students to list their three most prized possessions. Then, tell them to imagine that they have to give up two of them.

    - Which one would they choose to keep?

    - How would they feel about giving up the other two things?

  2. Order-in-Council PC 2483 strengthened the promise to protect Japanese Canadian property. It was published only three weeks after the initial promise to protect was made in O.I.C. PC 1665. Distribute Source 3.4 Order-in-Council PC 2483.

    - Post these questions for the students to consider while reading the excerpt from O.I.C. PC 2483:

    1. Why did the government feel it was necessary to reassure Japanese Canadians that their property would be protected?
    2. Within months of this enactment the government will reverse course and forcibly sell all Japanese Canadian property. Why did they make this promise if the intention was to sell the property?
  3. Distribute Handout 3.3 Austin Taylor’s Statement in The New Canadian and Source 3.5 The New Canadian, 6 April 1942. Have students read Taylor’s statement in The New Canadian and complete the questions in the handout. Explore students’ understanding by reviewing responses to the questions.
  4. Letter to The Editor – You are a Japanese Canadian community leader. You have just read Austin Taylor’s statement in The New Canadian, but you are one of the few Japanese Canadians who has read the actual text of O.I.C. PC 2483. Write a private letter to Austin Taylor expressing your reaction to his statement. Make sure to convey the emotional response as well as facts to back up your points.

    - Teachers may choose to have students share these letters in a variety of ways: post them on the wall in a Gallery Walk, read them aloud, or hand them in for assessment.

    - Optional: Assess students’ writing using Handout 3.4 Letter Writing Rubric.