$ 100 million to commemorate the internment
The Canadian Press – May 21, 2022 / 3:41 pm | History: 369622
Photo: The Canadian Press
Prime Minister John Horgan answers questions during a press conference at the Legislative Press Office in Victoria on Friday, March 11, 2022. British Columbia is providing $ 100 million in funding to address the historical mistakes it caused when it helped intern thousands of Japanese Canadians during World War II. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Chad Hipolito
British Columbia is providing $ 100 million in funding to address the historical mistakes it caused when it helped intern thousands of Japanese Canadians during World War II.
The announcement comes on the 80th anniversary of the first arrival of Japanese Canadians in the internment camps of Greenwood, Castle, New Denver, Slocan City and Sandon in 1942.
Prime Minister John Horgan says the funds will go to provide updated health programs for surviving internees, create and restore heritage sites and update the province’s curriculum to include what he calls a “terrible chapter” in British history. Colombia.
Horgan says the recognition is “long overdue” and the funding symbolizes “turning the page” in the way Japanese Canadians have been treated by previous governments.
The province said in a statement that it was based on a 2012 apology from the British Columbia legislature and was in line with a compensation proposal submitted in 2021 by the National Association of Japanese Canadians.
BC also donated $ 2 million to the Nikkei Seniors Health Care and Housing Society last May as a first step toward fulfilling a promise to recognize the internment of nearly 22,000 people.
“This gift will not change the past, but it will ensure that the generations that are still with us and those who come after will have the opportunity to see something positive coming out of what was obviously a very, very dark period. in our team of stories, “Horgan told a news conference Saturday.
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