| biography | The Japanese Canadian Citizens' League was organized in the spring of 1936, incorporating an existing group in Vancouver called the Japanese Canadian Citizens Association (JCCA) (The Enemy that Never Was - 160) who fundraised to send a delegation of four to Ottawa to speak to the Special Committee on Elections and Franchise Acts in an effort to gain the federal franchise, as attempts to gain the right to vote provincially had proven unsuccessful in the past.
In 1936, Dr. E Chutaro Banno, a dentist by profession, was one of four Japanese Canadian Citizens' League delegates asked to go to Ottawa to represent the interests of Japanese Canadians in B.C. Banno was accompanied by Miss A. Hideko Hyodo, a schoolteacher, Mr. Minoru Kobayashi, a life insurance agent, and Dr. S. Ichie Hayakawa, a university professor (Redress - 32). The delegation was unsuccessful in their attempt, but made significant strides in bringing attention to the inequality faced by Asian Canadians.
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