Wartime Exclusion of "Enemy Aliens," 1942
In 1940, following Canada's entry in the Second World War against Germany and Italy, mandatory cadet instruction was introduced in all British Columbia superior, junior high and high schools.
Cadet training had not been part of the physical education curriculum in British Columbia since 1933. [Previously, some city and municipal school districts had operated school cadets corps under the auspices of the Strathcona Trust].
In December 1941, Canada declared war on Japan and on February 20th 1942 students of Japanese "racial origin" were excluded from public school cadets corps, by order-in-council of the Council of Public Instruction.
The decision to exclude these students, most of whom born in British Columbia, was controversial. The decision to bar students of Japanese origin may have been motivated by racial prejudice, rather than by legitimate concerns for national security.
The exclusion of Japanese pupils from school cadet corps is considered in a poem and contextual notes by Laura Thomas (Educational Studies, University of British Columbia). The poem is entitled "warriors."
