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Renewal - NAJC Redress Actions
In September 1983, a NAJC conference was convened to ratify the National Redress Committee’s proposal to seek group compensation. The debate became heated and the delegates decided to put aside the redress position and develop a more democratic process of determining appropriate redress.
In January 1984, the NAJC developed a redress mandate, asking the government for a negotiated settlement that would include an official acknowledgment of the injustices; compensation for the suffering of individuals and the devastation of the Japanese Canadian community on the west coast; and legislative changes to prevent a recurrence of a violation to basic rights.
The Liberal government under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau rejected the NAJC claim for redress. Brian Mulroney in reaction to Trudeau promised, “If it were the Conservative government, I can assure you we would be compensating Japanese Canadians.” (Globe and Mail, May 16, 1984) When the Progressive Conservatives won a sweeping victory in the fall election, there was renewed hope as the NAJC requested a meeting with the government to pursue redress.
On November 21, 1984, the NAJC submitted a brief called Democracy Betrayed: The Case for Redress that called on the government to acknowledge the injustices suffered by Japanese Canadians during and after World War II, to enter into negotiations, and entrench equality rights in the Charter.
Roy Miki’s comment of the brief, Democracy Betrayed.
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