"Race, Employment Discrimination, and State Complicity in Wartime Canada, 1939-1945" offers an in-depth overview of Canada's racial and employment discriminations during the WW II period. The article is authored by Carmela Patrias. She illustrates how employers during the period discriminated against minorities on account of their foreign names, language, religion, and color irrespective of their qualifications and the severe labor shortage experienced at the time (Patrias, 2007).
The classification of the minorities was implicitly aided by the Canadian state through its census. Ultimately, this classification had the effect of allowing Anglo-Canadians to discriminate against the minorities. That occurred despite the government's official policy of non-discrimination in employment. The discrimination went on unabated notwithstanding the abundance of jobs presented by the growth in wartime industries as well increased conscriptions into the military (Bryce, 2005). It serves to illustrate that it was intentional rather than being caused by a structural weakness in the country's economic and labor policies. The fundamental weakness might include normal competition for limited available jobs between the minorities and the whites.
Proponents of a more careful approach towards the hiring of minorities had a justified reason. They feared that some of Canada's enemy nation could use the opportunity to infiltrate its war industries thereby creating a national security concern (Bryce, 2005). To them, discrimination from certain key jobs was the answer to their concerns. However, the discrimination cut across the whole population of the minorities including those whose origins were from Canadian allies in the war. Furthermore, a sizeable number of the minorities including those from Canada's allies were second and others even third generation immigrants who had been born and bred in the country. For that reason, they had little or no connection to their countries of origin. Therefore, after an in-depth examination of these factors, it is evident that the fears of disloyalty expressed by the anti-minorities were exaggerated (Patrias, 2007).
It shows that the discrimination in employment, which was aided by the state, was not informed by reason but by the deeply held perceptions about these minorities. African Canadians were perceived to be merely capable of unskilled labor and as such could not work in the wartime factories. Jews were seen as shrewd businessmen and as such giving them the opportunity to work in decent jobs would empower them eventually leading to "unfair" competition for Anglo-Canadian businesses. As such, it was necessary to deny them of such opportunities.
Despite the discrimination against the minorities, there were also preferences for these minorities denoted by some sought of hierarchy. Minorities from Southern and Eastern Europe were held in slightly higher regard when compared to their African and Asian counterparts (Patrias, 2007). It was, therefore, important that authorities come up with other means to profile even these European minorities. It is especially the case given that there were only a tiny number of people of color due to tight immigration policies (Stacey, 1970).
Politics too had a hand in the perpetuation of employment discrimination. In a bid to unseat the Labor government at the time, which had supported the formation of labor unions, owners of capital whipped up sentiment against labor unions. It is especially the case for the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which had a huge population of minorities as its members. The business owners sought to confer the message to the populace that it is such organizations with many minorities that created the disloyalty against Canada and as such should be suppressed. However, in essence, they were more of efforts geared towards self-preservation rather than patriotism (Stacey, 1970).
Biting labor shortages, as well as increased calls for equality by some senior civil servants, would force the government to act. The Committee of Aliens was tasked with finding jobs for the segregated workers mainly in road, bridge and military camps constructions. However, even this initiative would be riddled with bias as it was also geared towards minorities of European descent ignoring those of African and Asian origins. These groups were pushed more into forming institutions of their own such as churches and unions to fight for their rights (Bryce, 2005).
The persistent shortage of labor forced many to move to urban centers and other industrial hubs leading to the lack of labor in peripheral industries such as agriculture and lumbering. The government acted by suppressing whole groups of minorities especially the Canadians of Japanese and Chinese origins. Tit forced them into the abundant farmlands, mines and lumbers and as such further perpetuating the practice of discrimination against the minorities.
Patrias' article is an illustration of the pretense of the state during the wartime period. While its outward policies emphasized on non-discrimination by race, its actions on the ground acted to encourage the vice. . The irony is that these minorities were expected to participate in nation building activities as the other citizens, yet they were being denied the rights of the contemporary citizens. The government did not take any deliberate measures to try and reverse the stereotypes placed on these minorities. As such it allowed the Anglo-Canadians to undue advantages over the minorities.
References
Bryce, R. (2005). Canada and the cost of World War II. Montreal. McGill-Queen's University Press
Patrias, C. (2007). Race, Employment Discrimination, and State Complicity in Wartime Canada, 1939-1945. Jstor, 59 (6), 1-49. Retrieved Mar. 18, 2016 http://www.jstor.org/stable/25149753
Stacey, C. P. (1970). Arms, Men and Governments: The War Policies of Canada, 1939–1945. Ottawa: Queen's Printer.
