JCLS Legacy Programs
“Investing in community healing is ultimately a hopeful act, looking to the future of our community as much as acknowledging and commemorating our past. There is much work to be done, yet we remain deeply resilient and proud of our history and culture.”
– Susanne Tabata
Japanese Canadian Legacies is the implementation of a set of legacy initiatives developed through the BC Redress process from 2019 through 2022. The following legacy initiatives also reflect the input of the Japanese Canadian community, as expressed through extensive community consultations:
Community & Culture | Heritage Preservation | Monument | Education | Seniors Health & Wellness
Community & Culture
Community Fund
The Community Fund was developed to address the enduring intergenerational impact that government actions had, investing in the future of the Japanese Canadian community by allocating funds to six project streams: scholarships, community projects, infrastructure, intergenerational wellness, sports, and arts.
Community Fund 1, now completed, supported over 1,100 projects across the country. Community Fund 2 projects are complete or in progress.
National Association of Japanese Canadians
Supporting Capacity Building for the National Association of Japanese Canadians, the sole national JC community representative organization in Canada.
Heritage Preservation
BC Heritage Sites
The BC Heritage Sites program invests in places of memory—prewar communities up and down the west coast where Japanese Canadians settled prior to being uprooted in 1942, as well as internment-era sites in the interior of the province. Together with tangible Legacy Community Projects, these BC Heritage Sites ensure that our history is not only remembered, but woven back into the fabric of the communities we once called home.
Monument
Japanese Canadian Monument
Currently under construction in Victoria, BC, the Japanese Canadian Monument recognizes the long history and important contributions of Japanese Canadians in British Columbia. In listing the names of nearly 22,000 Japanese Canadian uprooted in the 1940s, the monument acknowledges the forced dispossession and internment of the community during World War II while celebrating their resilience and impact on the region. Designed as a space for reflection, education, and reconciliation, it serves to connect historical truths with a collective commitment to an inclusive future.
Opening week events take place October 4 to 7. Learn more
Education
Education
Finding home. Building community. Fighting for justice.
History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. The history of Japanese Canadians holds tough questions that persist in our society: Who belongs? How should we balance safety and freedom in times of emergency? How do we hold the government accountable for wrongdoing?
https://japanesecanadianhistory.com is a resource for teachers and students K–12 that examines those questions through the lens of Japanese Canadian history.
From stories of early immigration to the injustices of the uprooting during the 1940s and later efforts to rebuild community, this history allows students to connect emotionally with the stories of people and build critical understanding of historical wrongs.
Seniors Health & Wellness
Japanese Canadian Survivors Health & Wellness Fund
Seniors Health & Wellness is one of the five key funded pillars of JC Legacies. The Japanese Canadian Survivors Health & Wellness Fund (JCSHWF) fund speaks to the heart of our mandate: honouring our elders for their sacrifices and their guidance. The JCSHWF, operated by the Japanese Canadian Survivors Health & Wellness Fund Society, was created to distribute health support grants to assist individual Survivors across Canada with their health care needs. Survivors were assisted by Outreach Workers across Canada, who facilitated the online submission of applications through an application portal.
In total, over 5,000 seniors were served, with the grants providing essential relief for out-of-pocket health expenses, equipment, and wellness needs, honouring the resilience of a generation that persevered with grace through difficult years. This important work received critical support on a national scale.
Read more . . .
H.U.G.S. Program
Operated by the Nikkei Seniors Health Care and Housing Society, H.U.G.S. provides Health Urgent Guide Services for older adults living in the Lower Mainland of BC.
H.U.G.S. provides a health care and community resource navigation service helping older adults meet their urgent health and wellness needs and guiding them to resources in their area.
- Navigating to both government funded and private community resources and services
- Assisting with plans for health and housing needs
- Providing Information about estate planning
- Helping translate documents or forms into Japanese
