​Letter to the Office of the Custodian from Kane Tanaka

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Scanned black-and-white microfilm of a typewritten copy of a letter addressed to the government from Kane Tanaka regarding dispossession of their property.
84 Gerrard St., East,
Toronto 2, Ontario
​Office of the Custodian,
506 Royal Bank Building,
Vancouver, British Columbia

COPY FOR MR. SHEARS

Mrs. Kane Tanaka,
84 Gerrard St., East,
Toronto 2, Ontario.

Friday, July 18, 1947

Office of the Custodian,
506 Royal Bank Building,
Vancouver, B.C.

Re: File No. 8208

Dear Sir:

Your cheque issued for the sum of $552.98 in payment for my property at 3467 Monmouth Ave., Vancouver B.C., is absolutely unacceptable to me for the following reasons:

The property was sold without my consent at a price greatly below the fair market value at time of evacuation.

It is an obvious case of misfeasance attributable to unsympathetic and very careless handling. Doubtless the sale price based on assessed valuation reflects this careless attitude. No Canadian property owner in his right mind would willingly consent to the sale of his property based in such a valuation standard. It is highly doubtful whether those responsible in the office of the Custodian would willingly sacrifice their own home and property by selling it at assessed valuation.

My son, who is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, while stationed in Vancouver, met with the present purchasers of my property. They told my son that the people who originally bought the property at assessed price from you, sold my property to them at a price of $2000.00. This is a clear case of profit marking carried out at the expense of others.

These present occupants also told my son that the beautiful and valuable landscaped garden influenced them in purchasing the property and paying the price asked. Which indicates that your valuator was a person callous to the true valuation of the property or a person inclined to lean on the city assessment sheet as an easy way to do his work.

To reiterate, my claim for a just and reasonable valuation for the property is in the neighbourhood of $2000.00.

As the mother of a Canadian veteran who volunteered for active service in the Canadian Armed Forces, I request fair and just treatment from your department and the Canadian government.

Therefore I return the enclosed cheque for $552.98 as entirely unacceptable to me.

Yours truly,

"Mrs. Kane Tanaka"