1945:

A telegram arrives from Ottawa stating that, at the close of the war, British Columbia’s Japanese citizens will be removed to other provinces, for “more equitable distribution.”

“In due course,” the article in the Vancouver Province states,” there will be appointed the Loyalty Commission, which the Prime Minister indicated last year would be created to classify the Japanese and to determine their acceptability in the country. In clarification of what is being done, the labor departmental spokeman said:

‘The action taken by the Security Commission, with the approval of the Minister of Labor, is designed to be an advice to Canadian-born Japanese, who want to stay in Canada, that they should avail themselves of openings for employment outside British Columbia.”

The other option that Japanese detainees are faced with is deportation.

Image: ‘Certificate of Honor’, in an empty shop window, acknowledging a contribution to the Victory Loan Campaign by a Japanese Canadian who has since been interned and relocated. December, 1942. Image Courtesy of the Vancouver Archives.