Reference Re Persons of Japanese Race is a famous decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which upheld a Supreme Court of Canada ruling declaring a government order to deport Canadian citizens of Japanese descent to be valid. Background In January 1942, paranoia among white Canadians on the west coast had reached its peak. On February 24, 1942, an order-in-council passed under the Defence of Canada Regulations made under the War Measures Act gave the federal government the power to intern all "persons of Japanese racial origin." Nearly 21,000 people of Japanese descent were placed in these camps. In December 1945, the federal Cabinet issued three Orders in Council: #7355 provided for the deportation of: all Japanese nationals who were not Canadian nationals, who after the declaration of war with Japan had made a request for repatriation, or who were still detained under the Defence of Canada Regulations on 1 September 1945, naturalized British subjects of Japanese origin who requested such a move, and who had not revoked such a request in writing prior to 1 September 1945, natural born British subjects of Japanese origin who requested such a move (provided such request had not been revoked in writing prior to an order for deportation), plus wives and children of those involved. #7356 provided that naturalized British subjects who were so deported would lose that status. #7357 provided for inquiries to be held with respect to requests for repatriation. After the war, these Orders in Council that authorized the deportation were challenged on the basis that the forced deportation of the Japanese was a crime against humanity and that a citizen could not be deported from their own country. The federal Cabinet posed the following reference question to the Supreme Court of Canada: The matter was heard by the Supreme Court in the first case heard in the newly constructed building housing the Court. At the Supreme Court The SCC rendered a mixed ruling: the Court was unanimous as to the validity of deportations of Japanese nationals and naturalized British subjects In a 5-2 decision, the Court held that the validity of deportations was valid with respect to natural born British subjects In a 4-3 decision, they ruled that the provision relating to the deportation of wives and children was ultra vires, with Rand J, for the majority, specifying that deportation in relation to wives and children who