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Protest
Japanese Canadians lobbied the government to reconsider the forced sale of their property. They wrote | letters to government officials or the Custodian of Enemy Property (Canada) to protest. In British Columbia, officials identified 292 letters that they felt "gave a fair representation" of Japanese Canadians' concerns. A majority of the letters protested on the grounds of their property being sold for unreasonably low prices, without consideration of deeper property value or consent. In addition, the forced sale of property was seen as a violation of their rights as Canadian citizens.

Several risks were involved in writing to the Custodian. In a time when they were viewed as 'enemy aliens', many Japanese Canadians wrote to threaten legal action, or attempted to invoke their rights as citizens. Others, such as Tomio and Akira Yokoyama, immediately returned their cheques to the Custodian, and risked the loss of all sale revenue to convey their message.

A majority of the letters written by Japanese Canadians to the Custodian protesting or refusing the sale of their property did so on the grounds of the value of their lands. While Japanese Canadians' property and personal items were sold for less than their worth in market value, most owners contested that the Custodian had not taken into account the time, labour, and work owners invested in their land. Nor did the sales account for the memories, experiences and emotional value that many owners associated with their homes. In 1944, Toyo Takahashi wrote to the Custodian, explaining that when she and her husband moved into 42 Gorge Road, Victoria they spent over ten years of labour and hard work cultivating a garden of rare and exotic plants that won a horticultural award and was visited by the Queen in 1937. Many Japanese Canadians, including Takahashi, also emphasized the future value of their land, the labour put into building farms or businesses was an investment for many Japanese Canadians into not only their futures, but also for their children, and future generations. Japanese Canadians protested the sales forced upon them by the Custodian on the grounds that the sales failed to truly compensate owners for the holistic value of their land.

"“An undeserved liquidation of my property...will not only jeopardize our present status but far worse our future welfare as well. This property is our home, the reward for long years of toil and anticipation, a source of recreation, a stake in the future of Victoria, and an insurance for our later welfare” - Toyo Takahashi"

Alongside the underestimation of property value, many letters stressed a violation of democratic rights. Tatsuo Onotera wrote in his letter, "I have been brought up as any one of your other citizens believing this is a fair and Democratic country, but the way we are being treated I have my doubts.” Some writers compared the injustice they experienced to Nazis mistreatment of Jews in Europe. Tsurukichi Takemoto wrote, "Isn't the method you're using like the Nazis? Do you think it is democratic?" These and many other letters questioned the morality of the Canadian government. Half of the letters written spoke about consent or lack thereof, asserting they should have the right to refuse the sale of their property. Several writers sought to prove their citizenship as Canadians by explaining military service or stating that they were born on Canadian soil.

Many letters sent by Japanese Canadians to Government Officials and the Vancouver Office of the Custodian protesting or rejecting the sale of their property were filed away by Frank Shears, who oversaw day to day operations at the Custodian’s Office. Letter writers received form letters informing them that the sale of their property was made based on the appraised and market value in accordance with federal law. In 1947, due to an upcoming | royal commission, Frank Shears reviewed the letters for the legal representatives of the Crown and relayed that the basis of protest fell with two distinct spheres, tangible, or monetary and intangible, beyond money. Shears recommended that the Crown’s response “should lie strictly with tangible and specific.” Ensuring that the deeper concerns expressed by the Japanese Canadians would not be addressed or considered.