http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/20709
Canada's Harper to
apologize to Chinese immigrants for head tax
Political Gateway, FL
… 2006 (PG) – Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper was expected … state-sponsored
PM apologizes for tax
Calling it a
'grave injustice,' Stephen Harper apologizes, offers compensation for racist
head tax.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/22062006/2/national-prime-minister-offers-
compensation-apology-racist-chinese-head-tax.html
Very cool! The
Assembly of First Nations has made a statement supporting the apology
for Head Tax. I did meet Grand Chief Edward John in January who
had said that Paul Martin's “personal apology” wasn't good enough – this is what I wrote. My cousin Chief Rhonda Larrabee
of the Qayqayt First Nations, has often joked that on her father's side
they had to pay the head tax, and on her mother's side, they had their
land stolen.
http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/_archives/2004/11/17/185768.html
Attention News Editors:
OTTAWA, June 22 /CNW Telbec/ - Assembly of First Nations National Chief
Phil Fontaine issued the following statement today on the apology by the
federal government for the Chinese head tax:
"On behalf of the Assembly of First Nations, I congratulate
Chinese-Canadians and their descendants who were victimized by the racist
policy of the Head Tax. It is long overdue.
The unjust policies of the past often served only to widen racial and
social divisions in this country. The government of Canada is right to
acknowledge and redress these injustices. We congratulate the recipients of
this apology and their descendents for securing this long-overdue apology from
the government.
Survivors of residential schools are confident that they, too, will
receive an apology from the Prime Minister on behalf of the Crown once the
court approval process for the Settlement package is complete. Our case, like
that of the Chinese-Canadians, was similarly unjust and misguided, but for us,
the policy was for the purpose of eradicating our languages and cultures.
In exercising his leadership to make this apology, Mr. Harper
demonstrates the understanding that in order for both the perpetrators and the
victims to heal, there is a need to express a true and sincere apology and to
seek forgiveness.
Residential school survivors look forward to the day when we too will
receive our long overdue apology. We look forward to working with the Prime
Minister and his staff to set the date and the content of that apology.
Today, we honour the Chinese community and commend their persistence in
the pursuit of justice and redress. Residential school survivors, their
descendents, First Nations citizens and all Canadians look forward to a
similar apology from the Prime Minister on behalf of the Crown."
The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing
First Nations citizens in Canada.
For further information: Don Kelly, AFN Communications Director, (613)
241-6789 ext. 320, cell (613) 292-2787; Ian McLeod, AFN Bilingual
Communications Officer, (613) 241-6789 ext. 336, cell (613) 859-4335
A long-awaited apology.
Mah
is fortunate to see the day. Many of the head-tax payers, their widows
or sons and daughters, did not live long enough to see the apology.
Indeed, the imposition of the head tax seems almost ancient history.
Many Canadians may not even notice this black spot in our history. Why
should they care? Why shouldn't the Chinese-Canadian community just let
bygones be bygones? The answer is simple: justice.
The head
tax was introduced in 1885. It was the same year that the Canadian
Pacific Railway completed its first cross-country rail link, unifying
the nation. During its four-year construction from 1881-1885, it was
estimated that 15,000 Chinese came to Canada, and 6,500 of those were
employed by the railway to do the digging, drilling and dumping.
The
message of the head tax was clear: we needed your labour, but we didn't
need you to join our country. Pay it and you could come, but you were
not Canadians. At first, it was $50 per head. Then it increased to $100
and later to $500 by 1903. Yet the head tax, which targeted no other
ethnic group, was not enough to discourage Chinese immigrants who were
desperate to flee their homes in China. The prospect of a better life
in Canada still outweighed the cost of entry.
In 1923,
discrimination against Chinese immigrants became more blatant. The
Exclusion Act replaced the head tax. The introduction of the
legislation simply meant that if you were Chinese, sorry, you were not
welcome to Canada, even if you were willing to pay. Not until 1947 was
the Exclusion Act repealed.
Today in Canada we embrace
multiculturalism. Discriminatory legislation, like the head tax and the
Exclusion Act, would be political suicide. No political party will
commit the same mistake of a century ago. At a time when our federal
political landscape is changing, healing an old scar will be a shrewd
strategic move. Chinese have become the nation's largest visible
minority group, representing about 3.5 per cent of the population and
growing. Although it may take years before a relatively large portion
of the community is eligible to vote, it represents pivotal political
power in metropolitan cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal in
the long run.
Getting
redress for the head tax was a major issue for the Chinese-Canadian
community in the last federal election. Not everyone, particularly the
younger generation and the newcomers, shares the same anger for a past
injustice. Yet the lines to phone-in current affairs programs at two
Chinese-Canadian radio stations were jammed with callers who expressed
their support for redress during the campaign. To many in the
community, there is no grey area concerning the head tax. When asked
whether an apology is appropriate, the answer is an unequivocal yes.
A
parliamentary apology is just an important first step in redressing a
past injustice. Look at the First Nations communities. In 1998, the
federal government apologized to natives for the physical and sexual
abuse suffered by children in Canada's residential school system. Yet
it was November 2005 when the Liberal government offered a compensation
package of more than $2 billion for former students who survived abuse
at the schools, leading Grand Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of
First Nations to say “justice has prevailed.”
The road toward
reconciliation is a long and arduous journey. The Japanese-Canadian
community was offered an apology and a $300 million compensation
package in 1988 for the internment of 22,000 Japanese-Canadians during
the Second World War — more than 40 years after the fact.
After
a wait more than twice that long, and after more than two decades of
lobbying and a new political climate, the Chinese-Canadian community
finally comes to the finishing line — a parliamentary apology from the
ruling minority Conservative government on June 22, 2006. The date is a
historical milestone for over one million Chinese-Canadians in Canada.
In Cantonese, the apology Zi dou ho guo mo dou translates as “It's late but it's better than not coming.”
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Thursday » June 22 » 2006
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Festive atmosphere as Redress Train pulls into Ottawa
Thursday, June 22, 2006
OTTAWA
— Alex Louie, dressed in his veteran's uniform, disembarked from the Redress Express proclaiming the prime minister's promised apology for the discrimination of Chinese immigrants the best present ever. Celebrating
his 81st birthday Wednesday, Louie said he was overjoyed Ottawa will finally make amends for imposing a restrictive head tax from 1885 until 1923 and a prohibition on Chinese immigration until 1947. “All
I ever wanted was an apology and for the government to set the record straight,” said the spry, still-energetic Louie, who was decorated for his valour in the Second World War. Louie was one of
roughly 100 Chinese immigrants or their descendants who rolled into Ottawa on the special train to attend today's ceremony on Parliament Hill in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper will apologize for the discriminatory laws. The Conservative leader will also
unveil a restitution package worth perhaps as much as $20 million to compensate those who paid the tax, as well as their descendants. The
redress train, which started its journey in Vancouver, left Toronto in morning rush hour Wednesday amid a four-generation cacophony of excitement and various dialects Taishan, Mandarin, Hoisun and Cantonese. In
Ottawa, the train was met by about 40 supporters and the government point-man on the file, Calgary-Southeast Conservative MP Jason Kenney. Ralph
Lung Kee Lee clutched one of the souvenir last spikes distributed to dignitaries at the 1885 ceremony to mark the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Late historian Pierre Berton, the most
popular chronicler of the railway projects that were built largely with Chinese labour, donated the artifact to the redress campaign. Lee, from Pickering, Ont., held the rusted peg as if it were the Holy Grail.
“This
is the first time he has been out of the nursing home since 1995,” said his granddaughter Landy Anderson. “He's so excited.” Lee
came to Canada as a 12-year-old and worked as a dishwasher before landing a maintenance job on the railway in 1917. It took him five years to pay off the $500 head tax, the equivalent of two years' pay. “He's
part of the national dream,” Anderson said. “My grandmother and he were separated for 20 years because of the Exclusion Act (which prevented Chinese men from bringing their families into Canada). There are a lot of emotional scars because of that racial legislation. There are a lot of stories of pain and suffering.” She said that while the family was separated, her grandfather's brother starved to death in China.
An estimated 82,000 immigrants are believed to have paid the tax, contributing about $23 million to federal coffers.
The community began fighting for redress two
decades ago, demanding the government apologize. Last week, Harper surprised many by announcing the government would finally say “sorry.”
In
spite of his bitter experiences, Louie enlisted during the Second World War serving behind enemy lines as part of the legendary British Special Operations Executive, Force 136 the unit glorified in the Hollywood epic, The Bridge on the River Kwai. “After the war, things changed,” Louie added. “I'm very, very thankful.”
Louie said he didn't think restitution was necessary just an apology and historical honesty.
“I have seven grand-kids two of them have graduated from university,” he explained. “That's my reward.”
imulgrew@png.canwest.com
Vancouver Sun
With photo.
© CanWest News Service 2006
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Money may accompany apology for racist head tax OTTAWA
— The federal government appears set to offer money as well as a formal apology over a racist head tax once applied to Chinese immigrants. Heritage Minister Bev Oda strongly hinted at compensation in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
“An
apology will be made in the House and we will also be addressing appropriate acknowledgement,” she responded when asked if a compensation package would be announced. Chinese-Canadian
groups say they expect Prime Minister Stephen Harper will offer compensation as well as regret when he speaks to the Commons today. They suggest the package will include payments of
$10,000 to $21,000 for surviving immigrants who paid the tax, surviving widows and first-generation children. Some of the survivors of the head-tax era are to be in the Commons when Harper speaks.
Joseph
Wong, founding president of the Chinese Canadian National Council, said he can’t believe the government would invite the elderly people to Ottawa then turn them away empty-handed. “I am quite sure there will be a compensation package,” he said.
Susan
Eng, co-chair of the Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers, also said she thinks the government will offer compensation. “Apologies
will be hollow words without substance behind it. It’s important that there be some kind of token gesture while they are sill alive to see it.” As well as money for individuals, Eng said the compensation package would include money for education and
commemoration of the troubling era. The
head tax, ranging from $50 to $500, was assessed on Chinese immigrants from 1885 until 1923 when immigration from China was banned entirely. It was 1947 before Canada opened its door again to Chinese. Chinese
Canadian organizations are bitter that the head tax was only applied after the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed — with the help of thousands of Chinese labourers. “Once they had done the work to build the link across the country, they were told they weren’t wanted,” said Wong.
About 81,000 people are believed to have paid the tax, although only a handful are still alive.
Wong said there are only about 35 survivors, plus about 360 of their widows and fewer than 4,000 of their children.
He
said the government was asked to make payments of $21,000 to each survivor or widow and $10,000 to their children. That would be in line with the payments made to Japanese-Canadians after the Mulroney government gave them an apology and redress package for their internment during the Second World War. Wong said the apology is important.
“On
the other hand, a symbolic gesture of compensation for all those years of discrimination and suffering is mandatory to really show the sincerity. “We are not asking for the sky . . . but it
should be a dignified amount which shows in a symbolic way the regret of the government.” Eng, too, said the apology is vital.
“An
apology means that there is a public and official acknowledgement that this was legislation that was unreservedly racist . . . and this is something that the government of the day has chosen, properly, to apologize for.” Some say compensation for the head tax will
open the door to other minority groups with grievances. Ukrainian Canadians have argued they deserve compensation for internment during the First World War and Canadians of German and Italian descent have complained about internment during the Second World War. ’Once they had done the work to build the link across the country, they were told they weren’t wanted.’
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http://torontosun.com/News/Canada/2006/06/22/pf-1646806.html
It’s a historic day in Canada today, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologizes for the racist head tax.
Many of our ancestors would have paid the head tax, levied only against ethnic Chinese when they immigrated to Canada between 1885 to 1923. In 1923, The Chinese Exclusion Act lasted until 1947.
Tomorrow the Government of Canada will apologize for the racist head tax.
The BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants is asking for One Certificate, One payment. This is fair as many sons and daughters, as well as grandchildren all suffered the economic, cultural and social challenges created by both head tax and Chinese Exclusion Act from 1885 to 1947, and beyond.
If you are in Vancouver, please join me and other family members and friends at: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver at 12:00 noon (PDT)
Burrard & Georgia St.
My great-great-grandfather Rev. Chan Yu Tan arrived in Canada in 1896, but was possibly exempt as a missionary. This exemption would not have applied for his children, nor the many family members that came later, nor the people that our ancestors married, such as my great-grandmother Kate (Chan) Lee’s husband Ernest Lee. My father’s father Wong Wah arrived in 1886
and would have also had to pay for my grandmother Wong Chan Sze.
Chinese Head Tax information and stories. Where to go? What to find? How to register head tax certificates.
People can go to the websites listed below for head tax registration with community groups. This information will be presented to the Government to help identify head tax certificate information. It is NOT official government registration.
BC Coaltion for Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants.
www.headtaxpayers.ca
Chinese Canadian National Council
http://www.ccnc.ca/sectionEntry.php?entryID=72&type=Event
Ontario Coalition for Head Tax Payers and Families
www.headtaxredress.org
Vancouver Public Library is now inundated with patrons seeking head tax information. Click on http://www.vpl.ca/ccg/
Head Tax Information – info sheets are available in CHINESE and
ENGLISH
For stories on head tax issues collected and/or written by Todd Wong:
http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/ChineseHeadTaxissuesGimWongsRideforRedress
Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC
www.cchsbc.ca
Head Tax redress package…. a leak… what will Harper say?
Earlier today, Head Tax redress groups recieved information at that:
If this is true, then there will be many dispointed people. Everybody is expecting an apology, but the “compensation” is substantially less than the $35,000 that head tax payer Charlie Quon would like, and less than the $20,000 that head tax redress groups see as a minimum. BC Coalition has been stating “One certificate – one payment.”
But hopefully, this is part of the 2 stage process that the Head Tax redress groups have been proposing all along. Stage one includes apology + immediate redress payment for surviving head tax payers + spouses. Stage two includes payments for descendants, to be negotiated over an 8 to 12 month process, acknowledging it will take time to register head tax certificates and prove direct lineage of descendants.
One certificate – one payment. I believe this is fair. It is like a tax refund. A symbolic tax refund, for the exremely racist legislation that was created to keep Chinese out of Canada, while letting any other race in. Very poor judgement on Canada's part, especially after seeking, inviting, recruiting, and hiring Chinese labourers to build the Canadian transcontinental railway at substantially lower wages than White labourers.
There are many head tax payers and spouses who have now died and gone to heaven. Some were buried with their certificates. Their children suffered the financial setbacks along with their parents. Their grandchildren too. My maternal great grand father Ernest Lee, and my maternal grandfather Sonny Mar both worked hard to pay the head tax, and they both died early leaving their widowed wives with children to look after.
Canada need to make the apology so that our country can move forward. To the many Canadians who say “no compensation – get over it” – I say that financial redress is important and part of the process. Accept it, share in the celebration, and get over it. The United Nations asked Canada in 2004 to make an apology and financial redress, following New Zealand's example.
If we do not make an apology and proper redress, then future generations of multi-racial Canadians, will all be head tax descendants of a Canada that did not want their ancestors, refused to make apology for deliberately racist legislation, and refused to make fair and honourable redress when head tax payers, spouses and descendants were still alive. This would be the legacy and the burden that we would leave to our grandchildren and their grandchildren. Or we can make a proper fair and honourable redress and move on to the healing of our country.
Summer Solstice: My longest day 17 years ago.
17 years ago, my doctor asked me to come down for a visit. I had just been to the doctor on the Monday, June 19th. For a few months I had been gradually getting weaker and sicker. At our father’s day dinner, my brother had said to me, “You look like you’re dying, you should go see a doctor.”
“I have been seeing a doctor,” I replied to him, “about every 2 weeks.”
Little did we know that when I went to see the doctor on Summer Solstice Day, June 21st, 1989, that I would not be coming home for about a month.
I went to see my family doctor around 10:30 am. He next sent me to Lion’s Gate Hospital, to see a specialist. The specialist introduced himself as Dr. Paul Klimo. I looked at his white overcoat, and saw his name. Below his name were the words “oncology.”
“What’s oncology?” I asked.
“Oncology is the study of cancer,” he replied. “And yes, Todd… you have cancer.”
With those words, the true meaning of “longest day” began. I sat in the emergency room, waiting more tests. I tried to phone my parents, my grandmother, my brother, my girlfriend. But nobody was home. I left messages. These were the days before people had cell phones and pagers.
My father arrived at the hospital in the afternoon, when my family doctor had arrived to do an ultrasound on my chest area. He showed me the cancer tumor that was lodged behind my breastbone. It was so massive that I had bruises on my upper chest. It was pushing on my lungs, so I had problems breathing. It was pushing on the vena cava of my heart, restricting the returning flow of blood to my heart.
My parents, brother, girlfriend and grandmother came to see me that evening. My mother asked the doctor what my chances of survival were. He said 60%. I think he was being generous. The cancer was half the width of my chest cavity. They put me on oxygen, and they started emergency chemotherapy treatment that night. They couldn’t do any surgery because there was too much internal pressure inside my chest.
My longest day turned into a month as I stayed in the hospital until July before I was able to take weekends off for home visits. In August, I got to go home for a few days, in between weekly chemo sessions. Finally, from September to November, the changed the program to an intensive one week chemo session, once a month. By December, I was feeling better and attempting to play badminton on unsteady feet. My hair was starting to grow back just in time for Christmas. The treatments were over, and in February my oncologist pronounced me cancer free.
Today I celebrated my triumph over cancer by talking with my parents, doing some writing, playing with my cat, bought a blueberry pie for my nephew’s third birthday, and going to a meeting for the BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants. Life is good today. My mother said she was glad I made it. I have created a new life, and I also have a new relationship with a wonderful girlfriend who supports my many activities.
Life is fragile. We need to treat each and every day as precious. Whether we are stricken by cancer, disease or an oncoming car, we need to look after ourselves and our loved ones. Life is busy for me today. I am working on Head Tax Redress, a celebration for the Save Joy Kogawa House committee, the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team, my www.gunghaggis.com website.
And today… I recieved an e-mail from CBC Toronto that they are confirmed to do a special television story for the “Generations” sequel to “The History of Canada.” They want to do a story on the Rev. Chan family and descendants including me. They want to include my social and community activism with head tax redress, Save Kogawa House campaign, Terry Fox Run, dragonboats, the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner and all that stuff I do.
When I was lying in my hospital bed 17 years ago, I knew it wasn’t my time to die yet. I knew I still had something to offer to the world. I just didn’t know what it was.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington D.C. June 20, 2006
SILVERDOCS Announces Festival
Winners : CHAIRMAN GEORGE wins film award
The fourth annual SILVERDOCS:
AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Film Festival
came to a close Sunday with a Sterling
Feature Grand Jury Honorable Mention
awarded to CHAIRMAN GEORGE directed by Daniel Cross and
Mila Aung-Thwin.
The
film follows Greek-Canadian statistician George Sapounidis
who is passionate about singing in
Chinese. Determined to perform at the
Olympics, George travels to Beijing where he gains
popularity,
self-confidence and a true sense of belonging.
The Jury noted that CHAIRMAN
GEORGE received special mention as
“an inspiring fairytale, which ends firmly planted in
reality.”
SILVERDOCS 2006 took place June
13-18 in the Washington, DC area,
presenting 100 films from 22 countries selected from 1,687
submissions
with 13
World, 12 North American, six US and four East Coast premieres.
The Canadian Embassy in
Washington sponsored all travel arrangements for
Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin and George
Sapounidis.
The SILVERDOCS award winners
were chosen by an eminent Festival jury
including film executives from the U.S., France and South
Africa.
The Best Music
Documentary Jury included Peter Gabriel, musician and WITNESS founder.
The Festival honored the
legendary director Martin Scorsese in person
for his extraordinary body of documentary work.
Former Vice President
Al Gore also gave a keynote address.
Now in its fourth year,
SILVERDOCS is the most talked about documentary festival
in the United States.
www.SILVERDOCS.com.
www.chairmangeorge.com
CHAIRMAN GEORGE – Synopsis
Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin
CANADA, 2005, 72 minutes (available on
DVD)
US Premiere
George Sapounidis has a distinctive talent:
he is a Greek-Canadian who sings
in
perfect Mandarin Chinese. Driven by loftier ambitions than those his day
job as a statistician can gratify,
George sets out on a journey across China
with his sights aimed high-performing at the Olympics. Having learned
that
the Olympic flag is to be passed
to Beijing at the end of the 2004 Games in
Athens, he is convinced that this symbolic gesture mirrors his own
artistic
schism, and that he above
all others, a Greek singing Mandarin, would be the
perfect conduit between the two cultures. The only
trouble is, can he get
others to
agree?
George sets off through China making his way
towards Beijing, where he hopes
to
convince the Olympic organizers of his talent and necessity. Stopping in
many small villages along the way, he
enchants all the locals he meets by
revealing himself to be that rare Westerner who has taken the time to
learn
and perform their traditional
songs with emotion and sincerity.
With an increasing sense of purpose and
esteem, George eventually arrives in
Beijing, only to wonder if he'll ever realize his Olympic-size goals-or
if
perhaps they have already been
realized.
-Sky Sitney , Silver Docs
—————————————–
For background information about the head tax, visit
www.headtaxredress.org.
http://www.canadiandemocraticmovement.ca/displayarticle881.html
Subject: (Redress) CCNC Delegates Ride Redress Train
For Immediate Release
June 21, 2006
CCNC Delegates Ride
Redress Train
Toronto/Vancouver – On Thursday, June 22nd, 2006, the
Government of Canada will issue a formal apology to the head tax families and
Chinese Canadian community for the injustices of the Head Tax and Chinese
Exclusion Act.
Members of the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) delegation led
by Colleen Hua, CCNC National President, will be joining the Redress Train as
it departs Toronto
this morning:
Depart from Toronto (VIA Rail Train 42) on Wednesday,
June 21, at 9:30 a.m. EDT. Delegation to meet in Toronto Union Station at VIA
Rail’s Blue & Silver Lounge at 8:00 am EDT;
Arrive in Ottawa Wednesday, June 21, at main VIA train
station (Tremblay Road)
at 2:04 pm EDT.
The CCNC delegation in Ottawa
includes Dr. Joseph Wong, Victor Wong, George Lau and Gary Yee. There will be
simultaneous satellite broadcast of the Ottawa
proceedings in Toronto and Vancouver on Thursday.
Toronto:
Westin Harbour Castle
at 3:00 pm (EDT)
CCNC Spokesperson:
Cynthia Pay
Vancouver:
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
at 12:00 noon (PDT)
CCNC Spokesperson: Sid
Tan
CCNC – Ottawa will host a banquet
after the events on Parliament Hill at the Chu Shing Restaurant at 691 Somerset Street West
in Ottawa on
Thursday, June 22
(6 pm). The contact person is Ms. Willy Lee at (613) 738-8888.
CCNC is a national human rights organization with 27 chapters across Canada.
CCNC and other redress-seeking groups across Canada have pressed successive
Federal Governments since 1984 to provide redress for the Chinese Head Tax 1885
-1923, Newfoundland Head Tax 1906 – 1949 and the Chinese Exclusion Act 1923 –
1947.
-30-
For more
information, please contact:
Colleen Hua (647)
299-1775
Dr. Joseph Wong,
(416) 806-0082
Sid Tan, (604) 783-1853
Victor Wong, (416)
977-9871 or (647) 285-2262
Cynthia Pay, (416) 531-2411 ext 228
Head tax descendants active in Iqaluit, Nunavit – all across Canada!
Here's a letter from Gary Gee, a head tax descendant now living in the Actic, in Iqaluit, Nunavit.
June 21, 2006
Sir:
Your editorial of June 17 on the Chinese head tax apology by Prime Minister Harper fails to offer the kind of wisdom about reconciling Canada’s past racist injustices that one would expect from a respected newspaper that has obviously evolved from a time where it reviled the Chinese as the “yellow peril.”
As one of the more than 4,000 families of head taxpayers in this country, waiting not only for an apology to our community but fair and just compensation for the inhumanity that this brought to the Chinese Canadian community for generations, your paper’s editorial writers fail to understand the immense human suffering caused in the past by the head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act from 1923-47.
Yes, to bring it into context as you say, what about the Chinese Exclusion Act? That legislation of 25 years was aimed strictly at one race of people – the Chinese. It affected the same group of Chinese workers who paid the head tax to come into this country, thousands of men and in some cases, child workers.
My grandfather was one of many who spent their formative and adult years, separated from a family he couldn’t bring over and unable to afford to go home. They came to Gold Mountain because they were poor, much like many of today’s immigrants. They also came during a time when civil war and drought was devastating China and they bought into becoming “indentured slave” laborers in Canada.
The government stranded this whole group of people for a quarter of a century, many of whom helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway, which we agree led the way to expanding Canada from sea to sea.
In the ‘50s, my grandfather finally reunited with his family, a family of strangers, sir, that he he no longer knew and had not seen for more than 25 years. It was a bittersweet reunion amongst strangers in a hostile land.
That is the impact upon thousands of Chinese Canadian families and if not for the willpower of Chinese and our organized efforts in Canada during the Exclusion years, the community would have perished. It was certainly decimated and took generations to evolve into the community you see today, where Chinese Canadians have made an immense contribution to this country.
In the ‘50s and ‘60s, when you would see small rooming houses or hotels in Chinatown with old men shuffling around. Those are the head taxpayers and victims of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Some never made it home, not being able to afford to go back or bring their families – dying alone in an old tenement building 50 years after they arrived. Many died during the Great Depression because the Chinese were not allowed in soup lines. We had to take care of our own.
No amount of compensation can atone for the grave injustice perpetrated on this community, and as you say in your editorial, the “unconscionable behaviour” of past governments.
It’s a white elephant to imply the treasury will be broken by compensation to groups aggrieved by past injustices. We know the government will not be that generous.
Compensation is mostly a symbolic gesture to the survivors of those times and their families, who have been proven right and simply want their head tax back.
We are no longer foreigners. We stayed in Canada and we settled just like white Anglo-Saxon homesteaders from Europe.
Chinese Canadians have made our contribution many times over as your “model minority” who have contributed greatly by bringing our cultural talents, ingenuity, ideas and yes, wealth, to this country. We were not and never were the “yellow peril or menace” to Canadian society perceived by a white majority and those in power from Canada’s racist past.
As for other ethnic groups who are fighting for their right to be heard, let them speak. Each community has been affected differently and have their grievances. It’s not about fairness, sir. It’s about justice. All Canadians have a right to be heard, unlike 1923.
The Prime Minister has spoken about maintaining Canada as an open and diverse society. Participating in that kind of society means we can also ensure we have a just society. A just society must address the wrongs of the past.
The fact of the matter is Chinese Canadians fought for Canada in the 2nd World War and lobbied for our right to become equal citizens. We received that a century after we first arrived here. We were loyal Canadians and we deserved an apology long ago.
The social fabric of this country is changing into much more of a multicultural Canada than anyone envisioned from 1923. That is why minorities and ethnic minorities will no longer be silent about what they deem to be unjust and unfair. We are the future of this country and to demand justice is to rewrite a history that was not ours in the first place.
Your editorial does not offer any solutions other than for the government to ensure nothing like the head tax or the Chinese Exclusion Act ever happens again as you say, Canada “fumbles toward a better Canada.” For those who have lived through that history, I’m sorry.
That simply is not good enough.
Gary Gee
Iqaluit, Nunavut
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 22, 2005
NDP
CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE FAIR DEAL FOR CHINESE HEAD TAX PAYERS
OTTAWA – NDP Leader Jack Layton
along with his caucus colleagues, House Leader Libby Davies (Vancouver East),
Immigration Critic Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas) and
MP Peter Julian (Burnaby-New-Westminster), urged the Prime Minister to find a
compromise and fair deal for all Chinese Canadian head tax payers and their
families, today.
“These
families deserve an apology and real respect from this government,” said Layton. In a letter to
the Prime Minister, the Federal NDP questioned the government’s reasoning
in allocating $12.5 million for a redress project to a single organization
without including thousands of head tax payers, their families and their
representatives.
“It
is completely inadequate for this government to exclude at least 4000 head tax
payers, their families and descendants through a lump sum agreement with only
one organization,“ said Davies.
$12.5
million has been allocated to Chinese Canadians through the Acknowledgement,
Commemoration and Education (ACE) Fund, established for communities affected by
wartime and similar past measures. The government is expected to announce
Wednesday that it will sign over the entire allocation to the National Congress
of Chinese Canadians, despite calls from several other organizations, such as
the Chinese Canadian National Council, to be involved in any commemorative,
educational or other key measures that may arise from the fund.
“At
the forefront of the redress movement is the Chinese Canadian National Council,
which represents thousands of head tax payers and their families,” said Layton, “but if
this deal goes forward in its current form, CCNC will have no say in how the
funds will be spent.”
“The
Prime Minister should remember his responsibility to find a course of
compromise that will address the needs of the diverse community of Chinese
Canadians that deserve to be acknowledged here,” said Julian.
“Finding
a compromise to address the injustices committed against Chinese immigrants to Canada over a
period of decades should be this government’s first priority,”
added Siksay.
The
Canadian government collected $23 million from Chinese Immigrants to Canada between
1885 and 1923.
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For
more information, please contact:
Jack Layton – Karl Belanger: (613) 995-6767
Libby Davies – Leanne Holt: (613) 992-6036
Bill Siksay – Sonja vanDieen:
(613) 996-5599
Peter Julian – Henri Sader: (613) 992-4215
Question posed by
Libby Davies today in the House of Commons:
“Last Sunday was Father's Day, but many Chiense Canadians never knew their fathers because of the racist head tax.. Very few of them could celebrate because their fathers died waiting for an apology and redress.
Half an hour ago, hundreds of frail seniors arrived on a train to Ottawa with hope for justice at last. But justice must also include redress for families, without it, there is no reconciliation.
Will the Prime Minister do the right thing tomorrow and offer compensation to Head tax descendants?”
