Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property, attached to the

Secretary of State for Canada The Secretary of State for Canada, established in 1867 with a corresponding department, was a Canadian Cabinet position that served as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London. Scot ...

, was established in 1916 and existed until 1985, dealing with the property of Canada's enemies in both World Wars as well as with the seized property of

Japanese Canadians are Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of British Columbia, which hosts the largest Japanese community in the country with the majority of them living ...

History

1916-1939

The office of Custodian was originally created in 1916, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, deriving its authority from the ''

War Measures Act The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could t ...

'' and the ''Consolidated Orders Respecting Trading with the Enemy'', and its functions included the seizure and liquidation of enemy property. This followed the adoption of the UK

trading with the enemy Trading with the enemy is a legal term of English origin that is used with a number of related meanings. It refers to: #An offence at common law and under statute #A ground for condemnation of ships in prize proceedings #A ground for illegality a ...

restrictions enacted in 1914, which had been incorporated into Canadian law in 1914 by

order in council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...

. From 1916 to 1919, the

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and the Secretary of State had joint responsibility for acting as Custodian. From 1920 to 1939, it served the function of administering war claims and reparations. Under legislation authorizing the conclusion of treaties of peace the ''Treaty of Peace (Germany) Order, 1920'' was issued to create the Office, under the authority of the Secretary of State as sold custodian. The Office acted as one of the "clearing offices" authorized under Article 296 of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

for the collection and payment of enemy debts, and Article 297 authorized Canada to keep and liquidate any German property in Canada. Investigations and recommendations respecting claims for reparations were undertaken by the separately appointed Royal Commission on Reparations, chaired by Errol McDougall.

1939-1985

With the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the ''Regulations respecting Trading with the Enemy, 1939'' expanded the scope of the Office. From 1942 the role of the Custodian was expanded to include the administration of property seized from

. In the postwar period, the Custodian had the responsibility for resolving Canadian War Claims, and the resolution of outstanding wartime property issues. This latter process was complicated by the implications of the large scale nationalization of property in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

by the Communist regimes established in the post war period under Soviet auspices. The WWII regulations were continued on a temporary basis following the end of hostilities, and were continued in 1947 by the ''Trading with the Enemy (Transitional Powers) Act''. The Act ceased to have effect at the end of September 1992, and was consequently repealed in 1996. The Office ceased operations in 1985. Its files were transferred to

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

, but there is evidence that some have been destroyed without assessing their historical value. The Office never produced

annual report An annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested people information about the company's activities and financial performance. ...

s outlining its activities.

Notable custodians

Claude C. Robinson Claude Copeland Robinson (December 17, 1881June 27, 1976) was a Canadian ice hockey and sports executive. After winning an intermediate-level championship as captain of the Winnipeg Victorias in 1905, he served as secretary-treasurer and as vi ...

: ice hockey and sports executive, inductee into the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

, and the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Canad ...

References

External links

Textual and microfilm record of the Office of The Custodian of Enemy Property, in Library and Archives Canada
{Dead link, date=July 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Military occupation Law of war 1916 establishments in Canada 1985 disestablishments in Canada World War I legislation World War II legislation Aftermath of World War I Aftermath of World War II Economic warfare

History

1916-1939

1939-1985

Notable custodians

See also

Further reading

Academic analysis

Reports of the Royal Commission on Reparations

References

External links