President’s Message

Another way we can honour the generations who came before us is by participating in our democracy. Next month on October 19th, Federal Election Day, we can vote and pay respect to our Japanese Canadian ancestors who survived their journey from the 1800s to the trenches in Europe to the incarceration during the Second World War. They fought against racism, struggled with all the other challenges of making a better life for their families, and they thrived so we can enjoy our rights and freedoms today. The government did not allow them to vote until four years after the end of the war in 1949. Your vote does matter.

September is back to school, and back to our routines. It seems like we were just welcoming the summer, all the events, and our summer students. 

We had two wonderful summer students, Luella Sun and Tammy Lee, who were a tremendous help. We really appreciate the work they did and will miss them at the office. They’re back to school and we wish them a great, rewarding year. 

Thanks to all our volunteers especially our faithful volunteers who come out every year to our JCCA Wild Salmon Barbeque at Powell Street Festival (PSF). Thank you to our members and everyone who bought a salmon dinner and musubi SPAM sushi and kits. Thanks also to our Board, our Human Rights Committee, and our Japanese Canadian Young Leaders of Vancouver (JCYLV) Committee who contributed their time, energy, and ideas for the barbeque and the community booth. Without all of you, we could not continue to do our work, and thanks also to our Bulletin / Geppo editors for producing this magazine which is an important part of our work to inform, educate, and help connect our community. 

It has been a busy summer and you’ve seen the reports each month and the photos posted on our website and social media. After another successful PSF barbeque and community booth, we participated in the BC Sports Hall of Fame medal ceremony to recognize Asahi players and our JCYLV took the lead to organize the 10th Annual Asahi Tribute Game at the former Powell Street Grounds. 

The Asahi events are about honouring the players, and it’s also about remembering the history of Japanese Canadians particularly in the Powell Street area and how they overcame some of the prejudices so that people could judge them for their skills and “not the colour of their skin.” I was honoured that my grandfather was recognized. I hope that other family members can be found for the players who haven’t been recognized yet. 

There was too much going on so the family members didn’t really get the chance to connect, but I have heard some of the history of the players and there are so many untold stories of other Japanese Canadian teams and players. I think it’s another idea to add to our long to-do to-collaborate list of potential projects. See my article on page 10 for a more in-depth look at both events. 

Another way we can honour the generations who came before us is by participating in our democracy. Next month on October 19th, Federal Election Day, we can vote and pay respect to our Japanese Canadian ancestors who survived their journey from the 1800s to the trenches in Europe to the incarceration during the Second World War. They fought against racism, struggled with all the other challenges of making a better life for their families, and they thrived so we can enjoy our rights and freedoms today. The government did not allow them to vote until four years after the end of the war in 1949. Your vote does matter.

There have been changes to the Elections Act so please check the Elections Canada website at elections.ca/home.aspx or call 1.800.463.6868 for information on what identification you need. You can no longer use the voter card. Also, make sure you are registered to vote and find out about how to vote. Did you know you can vote early, at any Elections Canada office across Canada, before Tuesday, October 13?

We have a busy fall ahead of us. Our work continues on several projects including some collaborative community work. Hopefully you and the thousands of PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) attendees had a chance to see the Hastings Park 1942 signage. The committee is working on completion of the website and exploring the idea of an interactive display. The signage is permanent so anytime you’re in the area of East Hastings Street and Renfrew Street, take a walk by the Forum Building, Rollerland, and the Livestock Building. You can’t miss the bright green signs.

Honouring Our People: Breaking the Silence is our book project that features stories from the Honouring Our People: Stories of the Internment conference which took place in 2009. Final work on the book is taking place now and we expect to have it published later this year. Once we have the details worked out, information about a book launch and how to buy copies of the book will be announced. 

We are also preparing a workshop, Legacy of Redress, for October which is going to address the question we often hear, “what does the internment have to do with anything today.” It’s going to be an interactive gathering that will literally get you out of your chair. See the Save the Date notice to sign up for information.

The National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) Annual General Meeting will take place in Victoria later this month. It will be an opportunity for Japanese Canadian (JC) representatives from across Canada to get together and talk about the work that is needed to support the preservation of JC history, strengthen our communities, and promote and protect human rights. We will also need to look at what we can do to build capacity so we can carry on our work.

Meetings will also be taking place to plan for our 2nd Annual JCCA Bowl-a-thon. It’s fun for the whole family so plan on a special outing with family or friends in February. And we are also working with Tonari Gumi to organize the 4th Annual TG JCCA Golf Tournament in June. If anyone is interested in helping with either event please contact us at gvjcca@gmail.com or call 604.777.5222

We expect to have some information out in November so consider paying for the entry to the golf tournament as a special gift for the hard-to-buy-for golfer. He or she would enjoy the experience of golfing on a fabulous course with a delicious buffet dinner and lots of prizes to be won.