•First Nations and the Indian Act•Women’s Suffrage•Canadian Internments, well known and less known

THE EVOLUTION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

FIRST NATIONS AND THE INDIAN ACT

In 1876, parliament passed the Indian Act

It was passed without consultation with the First Nations

It was based on the view that European customs and traditions were superior to other cultures

Among the things banned at various times under the act First Nations were required to obtain

government permission to wear traditional clothing

First Nations ceremonies like the Sundance were banned

WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE Until 1918, the Canada

Elections Act barred women from voting and running as candidates in federal elections

As early as 1876 the campaign for the female vote began

Emily Stowe, Canada’s first female doctor formed a group called, Toronto Women’s Literary Club

Many women's groups had to be secretive about their true purposes of democratic equality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGEMscZE5dY&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7s&index=33

THE FAMOUS FIVE Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Henrietta

Edwards, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby are known as the Famous Five the conventional interpretation of "personhood“,

up until 1929, this term applied only to men.  Since only "qualified persons" could be appointed

by the Governor General to the Senate, women were not persons

These women took their case all the way to the Privy Council in Great Britain where, on October 18, 1929, it was ruled that women were eligible for Senate appointments. 

This was a major step toward equality for women in this country.

A timeline of Women’s progress in Canada

INTERNMENTS OF OUR OWN: CANDIAN EXAMPLES

Internments are is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial.

Ukrainian Internment This took place in World War I Over 8000 people of German and Ukrainian

descent Done under the War Measures Act Homes and possessions were seized Interned people had to work as labourers for no

wages This treatment continued after the war ended and

the War Measures Act was rescinded In 2005 Parliament passed the Internment

of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act

UKRAINIAN INTERNMENT A small number of

internees, including men considered to be "dangerous foreigners," labour radicals, or particularly troublesome internees, were deported to Europe after the war

Of those interned, 109 died of various diseases and injuries sustained in the camp, six were killed while trying to escape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlIg18h6_pU&list=PLE3267A9D8DE6E868

Commemorative plaque and a statue entitled Why?, by John Boxtel, at the location of the Castle Mountain Internment Camp, Banff National Park

INTERNMENT OF ITALIAN CANADIANS

Again using the War Measures Act this internment began in June of 1940,

when Italy declared war on Canada Mostly men, although some families had

to follow men to camps Some property was seized About 700 people affected Activities such as the teaching of the

Italian language, and meetings of Italian Societies were declared illegal.  

Italians in Alberta were forced to register and report on a monthly basis to the RCMP and carry identification cards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8JGrxni04w

INTERNMENT OF ITALIAN CANADIANS Although the majority of those interned

were from the areas of highest concentrations of Italian-Canadians ( Montreal, Toronto and other centres in Ontario), there were also documented cases from western Canada. 

Ottawa announced a attempt to compensate victims in 2007

the proposal includes a $12 million fund for exhibits on the internment and other educational material.

The recognition of Italian internment is part of a $50 million package that involves seven ethnic groups

THE JAPANESE INTERNMENT There was a long history of Asian

discrimination prior to World War II "No Chinaman, Japanese or Indian

shall have his name placed on the Register of Voters for any Electoral District, or be entitled to vote at any election."

Provincial Elections Act of B.C., 1895.

"Let our slogan be for British Columbia: 'No Japs from the Rockies to the seas"

Ian Alistair Mackenzie, MP, from his nomination speech, September 1944.

THE JAPANESE INTERNMENT A famous example is the head tax, the

Government of Canada collected about $23 million in face value from about 810,000 head tax payers

The total head tax collected by 1923 has been estimated as equivalent to over $1.5 billion in 1988 dollars.

The head tax system had the effect of constraining Asian immigration: making labour available for the railroads, and putting limits on the lives of the immigrants

When the war broke out there were roughly 23,000 people of Japanese ancestry in Canada, 22,000 of those in BC

THE JAPANESE INTERNMENT The trigger factor was the bombing of Pearl

Harbor December 7, 1941 Starting in January 1942, no person of

Japanese descent was allowed to serve on west coast fishing vessels or hold fishing licenses

In February of 1942 the government moved all people of Japanese origin away from the west coast a 100 km “protected area”

Eventually 21,079 were evacuated over 17,000 of these were full Canadian citizens

Over 3,900 were actually deported before an order was repealed in January, 1947

IMAGES OF THE INTERNMENT

THE JAPANESE INTERNMENT The seized businesses and property were sold

at auction for cents on the dollar, and the proceeds were used to pay the internment costs

During the war not a single case against a Japanese Canadian went to trial, no charges were ever laid

No Japanese Canadians were allowed to buy back their property

The 10 internment camps, 3 road camps, 2 prisoner of war camps, and 5 self-supporting camps were scattered throughout Canada

Full rights of citizenship were denied until March 31, 1949, despite the fact the war in the Pacific had ended in Sept of 1945

THE REDRESS CAMPAIGN In 1950, the Bird Commission's

report resulted in an offer of $ 1.2 million compensation to Japanese Canadians.

A 1987 Price Waterhouse study estimated real property loss at $ 50 million, total economic loss at $ 443 million.

In 1988, the Federal government announced terms of the Japanese Redress

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney formally apologized to Japanese Canadians and authorized the provision of $21,000 (Cdn.) to each of the survivors of wartime detention.

THE REDRESS CAMPAIGN I know that I speak for Members on

all sides of the House today in offering to Japanese Canadians the formal and sincere apology of this Parliament for those past injustices against them, against their families, and against their heritage, and our solemn commitment and undertaking to Canadians of every origin that such violations will never again in this country be countenanced or repeated. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s

remarks to the House of Commons, Sept. 22, 1988

GOOD PRIMARY SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

http://www.japanesecanadianhistory.net/GuideExcerptsForSocialStudies11.pdf

http://www.crr.ca/divers-files/en/pub/faSh/ePubFaShRacRedJap.pdf

http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/topics/568/