Nearly 600 men, who were usually the only source of income at the time, were take away from their families and imprisoned, leaving their wives and children to struggle without a source of income. They were declared enemies of the state but their only crime was that they were Italian.

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The song, U Scarparu Senza Scarpi, was written by Joe Baiardo and inspired by the true story of Francesco Zaffiro, who was a shoemaker in Hamilton, Ontario, arrested and taken away from his wife and 4 children and returned to them after 3 years in a Petawawa concentration camp. He, nor any of the other hundreds of internees were ever charged of any crimes.