Commission to Inquire into Charges Contained in Articles in the Vancouver News Herald under the Heading "Nippon Black Dragon Operates within British Columbia" (Canada) : The Commission to Inquire into Charges Contained in Articles in the Vancouver News Herald Under the Heading "Nippon Black Dragon Operates Within British Columbia" was established under Order in Council P.C. 9723, 24 October 1942, under Part I of the Inquiries Act (R.S.C., 1927, c.99) and on the recommendation of the minister of justice. The Commission was mandated to inquire into and report upon the charges, allegations, statements and questions contained in articles on page one of the Vancouver News Herald of Vancouver, British Columbia, dated 26th September, 1942, under the heading "Nippon Black Dragon Operates within B.C.", and on page four under the heading "Black Dragon in B.C.", and in the issue of the same paper dated 9th October, 1942, on page one under the heading "Reporters find Japs are loath to go to 'Morii Camp'." The commissioner was John Charles Alexander Cameron.
A federal inquiry into charges about the Black Dragon Society was established in reaction to articles which appeared in the Vancouver News Herald on 26 September and 9 October 1942. The articles referred to a "Japanese Fascist-like gang" as being directly affiliated with the Black Dragon Society of Japan and that Etsuji Morii was connected with it. The articles contained charges, allegations and statements and asked questions that cast aspersions on the British Columbia Security Commission (the commission appointed to deal with the evacuation of the Japanese), the Defence of Canada Regulations, as well as on Morii and others.
In essence, the charges and questions in the News Herald were three-fold: (1) Etsuji Morii, a Japanese naturalized in Canada in 1921, was a gambler and racketeer, used gangster methods to enforce his will on the Japanese community, protected Japanese illegally in Canada, was feared by other Japanese; and the facts were known, or, by reasonable investigation, could have been known to the RCMP, that his services should not have been used in any capacity by the RCMP or the British Columbia Security Commission, and that his contacts and influence with these organizations were used to levy tribute on other Japanese; (2) Morii was an officer of Sokokukai, a Japanese organization said to be directly affiliated with the Black Dragon Society of Japan, and he was disloyal to Canada and should have been interned; and (3) the RCMP and the British Columbia Security Commission, with knowledge of his alleged bad reputation, were "complacent" and by reason of his previous services to the RCMP, Morii had "sold" himself to that organization to such an extent that its officials believed in him implicitly and did not thoroughly investigate reports as to his bad character. (See Order in Council P.C. 9723, 24 October 1942, and "Report of His Honor Judge J.G.A. Cameron re: Japanese Inquiry At Vancouver, B.C., 1942" in the commission's records.)
Hearings of the commission were held in Vancouver from 30 October to 21 November 1942. There were 34 exhibits filed with the commission. RG33-60 General Inventory
