​Letter to P Douet from Takeo Yoshida

Takeo Yoshida,
40 Gilead
Lemon Creek, B. C.,
February 12, 1946.

Mr. P. Douet,
Administration Department,
Office of the Custodian
Japanese Division

Dear Sir: Re: File 3367 - 3026

I have received your letter of February 4th, and do not consider it a satisfactory reply to my inquiries in my letter of January 28th re: Catalogue No. 310, 1672 W. 2nd Ave, Vancouver, B. C.

I have written for a permit to go to Vancouver in order to settle my Father's business and my own, but according to the reply of Mr. T. B. Pickersgill, your office does not consider it necessary for me to go to Vancouver. However, right now, after knowing that you are about to liquidate all our family belongings and property, I demand that it is necessary for my to be in Vancouver to protect such injustice for disposing of my Father's property, family treasures, our personal belonging, furniture, and many parcels of friends and relatives, without approval from its rightful owners, and against their will. My Father, who is a Naturalized Canadian Citizen for over thirty-five years with Canadian-born sons and daughters all living in Canada, strongly protests the liquidation of his property and home.

I have resided in Toronto and Vicinity for the duration of the war and have noticed the families have faced difficulties in housing and necessities, which have proven a stumbling block for rehabilitation of evacuees and also of Veterans' Rehabilitation.

Now that the war is over, we, who are about to rehabilitate with our families elsewhere from interior ghost towns, are in dear need of such necessities of life. Don't you believe by liquidating, such persons with at least something to depend on, ease and permit speedier rehabilitation of families here in Slocan Valley.

My Father's property has taken care well to this day, without any trouble to your office, and has no debt, also being used to good advantage till now, so on what earthly reasons could there be for its liquidation now. After all, the war is over and there shouldn't be such injustice. The war was fought to bring peace and justice to all in the world, and to eliminate dictatorial powers, so why practice such dictatorial methods and injustice here in Canada. Many friend and persons of our minority have joined the services of Canada for right, justice and fairness, for everything that the war stood for, be a dead cause when there is injustice of liquidating personal assets and belonging without the approval of its rightful owners.

Such injustice, I will appeal to you for reconsideration, till such time, I can and will be able to settle. If my appeal to you to withhold such a liquidation is of no avail, you can be assured it will be heard and protested to all persons concerned and responsible for the injustice. I will, with all my efforts, let the Canadian Public know what form of injustice is carried on in spite of the true form of government and policy which Democracy stands for in Canada. I will be returning to Toronto soon, and there I will also seek help from organizations that believe in Democracy, Justice, Fair play and Equality to all.

Yours truly,
(signed) T. Yoshida.