Presentation to the Standing Committee of Council on Planning and Environment: The following is a point form summary of the actions, recommendations and intentions of our Greater Vancouver JCCA steering committee:
• We appreciate the following recommendations in the Hastings Parkl/PNE Master Plan:
• that heritage resources be interpreted, adapted, renewed and integrated into the future vision of Hastings Park;
• that Momiji Garden be improved;
• that the inclusion of the “gateway” feature would be respectful of the genesis of the Momiji garden and the Japanese Canadian community.
• We acknowledge and thank Master Planner Dave Hutch for meeting with and encouraging us to communicate our concern to City Council regarding the need to include and present Japanese Canadian history in Hastings Park in Hastings Park/PNE redevelopment planning and implementation;
• Despite past acknowledgement of Japanese Canadian history in Hastings Park as indicated by the establishment of Momiji Garden and the presence of the commemorative plaque, today, the experience of Japanese Canadians at Hastings Park continues to be largely unknown to the general public;
• We present additional concerns brought up during meetings with our community throughout October and November, 2010 which are: ? Recommendation to move the commemorative plaque to a more prominent and visible location; ? Our need to take steps before more community elders pass on, to further develop, provide, and maintain public education and knowledge about Japanese Canadian history in Hastings Park.
• There needs to be clear, open, widely visible commemorative and educational presentations in key, historic Hastings Park places, regarding our Hastings Park history.
• We thank Councillor Raymond Louie for his reference to the Livestock Building, the Forum, Rollerland and the Garden Auditorium all of which played a role in the 1942 detention of Japanese Canadians at Hastings Park, as “heritage resources within Hastings Park.” We feel encouraged by information in his communication of November 23 that our project is supported;
• We also acknowledge the valuable time, support and encouragement given to us by Councillors Kerry Jang and Ellen Woodsworth, through their communications and meeting with us on November 22;
• We convey our wish, our preparation and our intent to fully participate at the earliest opportunity with other stakeholders and City staff in supporting, developing and implementing an overall interpretation plan for Hastings Park/PNE— one which can benefit from including our Japanese Canadian community project.
• As community member Mary Kitagawa and other community elders have said, people must know about and not forget the detention of Japanese Canadians at Hastings Park and our community’s subsequent internment and dispersal between 1942 and 1949, so that such a thing will never again happen to anyone else.
• We feel our project concerning our historic relationship with Hastings Park serves everyone’s interest and not only that of Japanese Canadians.
Thank you all for your time and consideration.
Judy Hanazawa Chair, Greater Vancouver JCCA Steering Committee
