text: The "Custodian of Enemy Property", an office of the federal government, was given administrative control of the property of Japanese Canadians, beginning in 1941 and continuing until 1952. As a bureaucracy under the authority of the Cabinet, the office of the Custodian took its directions from Order in Council 1665, as later amended by Order 2483, which allowed them to seize the property of Japanese Canadians. "This is not a confiscation" the government said, "the Custodian will administer property in the interests of the [owners]." The January 19, 1943, Order in Council 469 expanded the Custodian's power to sell the property of Japanese Canadians. "The Custodian has been vested with the power and responsibility of controlling and managing any property of the persons of Japanese race...the power to liquidate, sell, or otherwise dispose of such property" without their consent.
  These actions were carried out with significant public support. Citizens wrote to their representatives urging the removal of the Japanese Canadian community from British Columbia. Government officials reported property damage done to the homes of uprooted Japanese Canadians as members of the public engaged in "ransacking", "looting" and "wanton destruction." One official reported "[a]lmost every building formerly owned by Japanese...has been entered at one time or another