Emergency Powers In Canada Research Paper

With the withdrawing of Japan from the League of Nations, their attack on Pearl Harbour and then their battle against the Allied Forces during the Battle of Hong Kong, Prime Minister Mackenzie King thought that it was necessary to take precautionary measures against the Japanese by interning them, just in case any individual or group planned to aid their country. Many Japanese were outraged, as most were innocent. They were then taken to internment camps located in the interior of British Columbia, where they faced poor living conditions, had no electricity nor any running water. “The experience was horrific. We barely survived after long days of work and being given nearly expired food,” said a Japanese mother who was involved in the experience. The property and valuables of the Japanese were seized by the government and weren’t returned. This injustice with the Japanese is what led to this apology.

The initial reaction to Pearl Harbor was to take cautious emergency actions to avert civil unrest. Soon, the Canadian government passed the War Measures Act. It gave permission to intern all undesirable Japanese, tie up every Japanese-owned fishing boat in British Columbia, close all Japanese language schools, forbid the publishing of newspapers in Japanese, and seize all Japanese property. All of which were subsequently carried out. In 1941, there were twenty-three thousand five hundred Japanese persons in Canada, residing mainly on the coast of British Columbia. Of that, six thousand seven hundred were Canadian born, seven thousand were naturalized citizens, and the rest were nationals of Japan. However, nothing could make any difference. To the typical, white British Columbian, the Japanese were all lower-class citizens. Five hours after the attack on Pearl Harbour, forty-eight Japanese planes bombed Hong Kong where two Canadian battalions were stationed, and were inflicted with heavy casualties. The “problem” of the resident Japanese in British Columbia was then quickly set into the mainstream focus. Prior to declaring war on Japan, Mackenzie King had stated that the “enemy country” had “wantonly and treacherously” attacked British territory, and that “Japan’s actions [were] a threat to the defence and freedom of Canada.”

As you can see the welfare of Canadian democracy is threatened and extreme measures need to be taken to turn around the mess we are so deep in.

Economically, those who failed to prove they are Canadian lose their jobs because it is a security risk according to the War Measures Act. Moreover, they did not just lose their jobs, but also their homes and self-ran businesses. All of their homes and businesses are destroyed before they are sent to the internment camps. The government of Canada took all of the belongings of the Japanese and Italians whilst sending them to camps. In 1946, the government of Canada institutes the Japanese Property Claims Commission. This commission allows the Japanese to speak out their thoughts of being treated unfairly. Nor was it until 1988 when the government gave $20k as an apology to each living survivor. As a result, after all the hard effort the Japanese and Italians put into own homes and shops, the privilege of living and working where they want is taken away due to being forced to live in internment

The prime minister has a significant amount of power within the Canadian government. Some of the sources of the prime minister’s powers are the number of seats in the House of Commons he and his party has, his ability to give push/give priority to certain government agendas, and his ability to appoint different governmental positions. For a politician to hold the office of PM his party must hold the majority of the seats in the house; this means that by convention his party must be in solidarity with his decisions, which gives the PM’s the loyal support of his party. Another power of the PM is the ability to put forward government agendas that they believe should be prioritized. The PM also has the ability to appoint people who they believe

By 1942, the tensions of war had drastically impacted both American and Canadian communities. The spread of xenophobia, the fear of espionage and sabotage, had gripped both nations, bringing with it Anti-Japanese propaganda. The threat of internal security after Pearl Harbor in 1941, and a growing fear of future attacks from Japan led president Franklin D. Roosevelt to introduce a policy known as ‘Executive Order 9066’. Executive Order 9066 was very similar to Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s in the early 1940s. These two policies allowed broth governments to relocate first generation Japanese immigrants called Issei and children of first generation Japanese immigrants called Nisei; to desolate areas of the country. In total 100,000 Japanese Americans and 22,000 Japanese Canadians were relocated.

The necessity to limit the rights and freedoms of Canadians is illustrated and reinforced through the governments use of reasonable limits, ‘notwithstanding clause’ to limit individual rights and freedoms, and the occasional need for the government to have power extended above and beyond the limits prescribed in the Charter.

As a nation, Canada is known to the rest of the world for being thoughtful, polite, and generally very accepting of all ethnicities and people. However, the treatment of Canada’s Indigenous population, Japanese Canadians, African American and Indigenous slaves seems to suggest otherwise. Canada's dark past may not be talked about often, but there are three main events that targeted specific ethnic groups which still affect those people today. Residential Schools led to major negative cultural consequences, as well as psychological and sociological effects. Japanese-Canadian Internment Camps were used to strip Japanese Canadians of their rights because of the World War II bombing of Pearl Harbor. And finally, for two centuries slavery was legal in New France, and in Lower Canada under British rule. Human beings were being held captive and were owned by many people, including governors, bishops, military officers, priests, and blacksmiths. All of these terrible consequences can be accredited to Canada’s imperialistic policies.

Pierre Trudeau was a leader who not only brought change by bringing new laws to Canada, but he changed the way people viewed other laws. Trudeau listened to the majority, but also protected the rights of the minority which demonstrates he is a strong leader. He once said “Canada will be a strong country when Canadians of all provinces feel at home in all parts of the country, and when they feel that all Canada belongs to them.” (CBC Archives) Trudeau has always strived for greatness and has been successful in many cases. As in the FLQ crisis, Trudeau declared a brief period of Martial Law using the War Measures Act (WMA). By doing this, he completely changed the view of the WMA. It had been assumed that the WMA would be used in times of crisis, such as famines, depressions, pandemics and other serious situations that are serious to Canada’s well-being. However, Trudeau demonstrated how it can be used

December 7th, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army successfully pulled of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. After this attack the government of Canada used the war measures act to remove all Japanese Canadian citizens that live 160km from the Pacific Coast and put them in internment camps until 1949, four years after WW2. Fast Forward to 1988 and the Canadian government gives an apology to the Japanese, however the apology was for more than just Japanese Internment it was for the pain and suffering, discrimination, and for leaving Japanese citizens with nothing.

The Canadian Prime Minister presents the illusion that this so-called democratic Canada is run by the will of the people and attempts to maintain this image, yet the truth is that the power stays

Secondly, he after effects from the Japanese internment camps changed the views of the Japanese Canadians in regards to minority rights in Canada. This is because they realized that they couldn't just let the discrimination of the Japanese Canadians go and they demanded justice. After the Japanese Canadians were released from internment camps they were lost. Their house and possessions were sold off by the Canadian government without their permission, they had virtually nothing. On top of that the Japanese Canadians were given the choice to either relocate East of the Rockies or deport back to Japan. Soon after the Japanese Canadians had no choice and were forced exiles to Japan began. However things started to turn up in 1947 when the federal cabinets canceled the deportation policy, but the Japanese Canadians still wanted justice. The Japanese Canadians believed that it wasn't fair that they were treated so badly because they were from Japan origin. Even though they were a minority group they were still Canadian citizens and should be treated like Canadians. The Japanese Canadians were determine for

During the World War 2 Japanese-Canadian Internment camps, Canadian citizens from so called “enemy countries”, were torn away from the lives they had built for themselves. They were taken away from their homes and families to live and work in internment camps sanctioned by the Canadian government because of their ethnic background. Of the 22,000 Japanese Canadians living in BC at the time, nearly ¾ of them were born in Canada or naturalized citizens, yet they were still prosecuted like criminals. Muriel Kitigawa, a young Japanese descendant, wrote to her brother back in Japan telling him about the hatred of other Canadians against the Japanese. Signs were posted on the highways “JAPS KEEP OUT”, and the persecution was more and more intense

The start of discrimination against Japanese Canadian’s started in 1907, Vancouver. When a mutinous crowd of white Canadians, bashed windows and injured a numerous amount of Japanese and Chinese people in their neighbourhood. Instead of punishing the white Canadian’s for their uncivilized behaviour the government reduced the immigrant entry to four hundred a year. This act was demoralizing as it reduced the chance of the individual’s family coming over, and created an unwelcoming and prejudiced environment. Soon after Canada officially declared war on Germany in 1939 the government decided to imprison all male Canadian citizens with Japanese descent in internment camps across BC. Later contributing to this outburst on

In 2011, three legal and constitutional scholars, Peter Aucoin, Mark D. Jarvis and Lori Turnbull set out to write a book detailing what they believed to be obvious and egregious errors in the way in which the current form of responsible government as it was practiced in the Canadian federal government, fell short of operating within basic democratic parameters. Canada has a system that is based one the Westminster system, in which its the Constitution act of 1867 is influenced by British principles and conventions. “Democratizing the Constitution reforming responsible government” is a book that makes an analysis for the reform of responsible government in Canada. The authors believe that from the unclear rules, pertaining to the role and power of the prime minster foresees for a failing responsible government. In this essay the functions of the government , conventions of the constitution, the a proposal for reform will be addressed.