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 The January 19, 1943 [https://loi.uvic.ca/narrative/entries/1943-01-19/order-in-council-p.c.-469.pdf 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.