TorontoNAJC May Update
May 1, 2019
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear friends,
We are pleased to say that the 70th Anniversary of Freedom Day will be celebrated as part of Asian Heritage Month. The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General in partnership with the City of Toronto and the federal Department of Justice will be holding a panel discussion to include Mr. Justice Michael Doi of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. For those who were unable to attend our Freedom Day event on April 1st click on the Freedom Day image on this page to see the video.
B.C. redress now? Some wonder why. The Federal and B.C. government have both apologized, provided redress measures and held consultations with the Chinese Canadian community. The 2012 apology by the B.C. government expressed regret but not responsibility and no legacy redress measures were included. We applaud the current government’s recognition that they can do better.
A member, Marie Ikeda, one of the most dedicated of Toronto’s JC volunteers and wife of the irrepressible Sid Ikeda was one of the honorees at the Asian Heritage Month Award Gala on Sunday, May 5th. Congratulations to Marie on this well-deserved accolade.
We are grateful to have received a Community Renewal Fund grant from the NAJC to strengthen our communications and administrative capacity. We will be hard at work over the summer implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) platform that will help us to improve our ability to manage member database and communicate through all channels effectively.
Our Social Justice/Human Rights Committee will be starting to plan for an exciting fall event featuring the highly respected constitutional lawyer, Eric Adams. The tentative date for Eric’s presentation on How Japanese Canadians Shaped the Canadian Constitution is Thursday, November 7th. Eric’s work has been published in Canada’s leading law journals and been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada and in the House of Commons.
Best wishes,
Lynn Deutscher Kobayashi, President
B.C. REDRESS NEWS
The first consultation was held at Momiji Healthcare Services on April 28th and was a great experience for all participants. A more detailed report will follow.
TORONTO CONSULTATION #2
Hosted by: The Greater Toronto Chapter of the NAJC
Chair: Justice Maryka Omatsu
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 2019
TIME: 1:30 P.M. to 4 P.M.
LOCATION: Momiji Healthcare Services at 3555 Kingston Rd, Scarborough, Ontario.
Registration not required but will be helpful for planning purposes.
Email torontonajc@gmail.com or call 647 932-1296
In 1988 the Canadian government apologized and redressed its wrongdoing to Japanese Canadians, but the arc cast by the B.C. government’s shallow 2012 apology, expressing regret but not responsibility, falls short of justice.
Funds from the 1988 Redress agreement helped create cultural centres, seniors’ centres and initiatives that helped rebuild a decimated community. One proud legacy is the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. What can be done now as further research reveals the breadth of property loss, opportunity and resulting intergenerational trauma? And, the loss of the heart of the Japanese Canadian community, Japan Town, formerly in Vancouver’s Powell street neighbourhood.
We applaud the provincial government’s recognition that the 2012 apology as it stands is inadequate and was made without consulting those affected by the mass incarceration. First steps towards B.C. Redress are underway with the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) the organization that negotiated the 1988 Redress Agreement. Premier Horgan met with NAJC President, Lorene Oikawa and has agreed to provide funds to hold public consultations in B.C.
In 1988 the NAJC represented all Japanese Canadian organizations from east to west and still stands as the only National organization of Japanese Canadians. The NAJC is committed to soliciting feedback from Japanese Canadians across Canada. Please attend to have your say.