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Chow Time: Janice Wong featured in Canadian Living Magazine

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Chow Time: Janice Wong featured in Canadian Living Magazine

Janice Wong is featured in this month's Canadian Living
magazine (March 2007).  The article is titled Chow Time: Celebrate
Chinese New Year with traditional home-style recipes compliments of the
Wong family.

Janice is my second-cousin, once removed.  Her father and my
maternal grandmother are cousins. Her grandmother Rose, was the younger
sister to my great-grandmother Kate (Chan) Lee.  We may both be
Wongs now… but we are both descended from Rev. Chan Yu Tan – one of the first Chinese ministers ordained in Canada.

After the death of Janice's father Dennis (whom many people say I look
like), she made up a memory book of pictures, stories and recipes as a
gift to her brother and sisters and mother.  It was also a gift to
her nieces and nephews so that they would know more about their
grandfather.  One of Janice's friends saw the book, and suggested
that she send it to a publisher.

Earlier this Wednesday, Janice me told the story about how her memory
book full of her father's recipes from his Prince Albert SK restaurant
made the journey to become a published award winning book.  She
was guest speaker for our writing workshop, taught by author/editor
Brandy Lien Worral, produced for the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia. 
She passed her original gift book around.  I was amazed to finally
see it, after having become involved in some of the book's promotional
events from it's October 2005 book launch to being on panel discussions
at the West Vancouver Public Library and Vancouver Public
Library.  I gazed at the pictures to see pictures of her father
Dennis as a child, and grown up with his brothers and sisters, cousins
– all relatives that I knew as I grew up.


Janice and me, at her studio during the East Side Culture Crawl
read the story:
Eastside Culture Crawl: Visits to Janice Wong studio at 1000 Parker

Here is the script from Canadian Living Magazine:

It
was through an artist's eyes, and with an artist's deft touch, that
Vancouver native Janice Wong delved into her family's rich
history—which straddled the Canadian West in the 1920s, as well as the
political quagmire that was China in the 1930s—to share their
fascinating story in the pages of CHOW, From China to Canada: Memories
of Food and Family (Whitecap, 2005, $24.95).
In this multilayered
book, for which Wong was awarded the 2006 Cuisine Canada Culinary Book
Award for Canadian Food Culture, the artist-author weaves together a
charming—and revealing—blend of photographs, memories, artifacts,
family lore, and of course, recipes.
In crafting CHOW, Wong pays
homage to both her rich Chinese heritage and her colourful family in
one stroke. Her father's Lotus Café in Prince Albert, Sask.—one of
Dennis Wong's two restaurants—was an institution, and it's this man who
inspired many of the recipes that fill the pages of CHOW.

–Canadian Living Magazine, Food, p. 163, March 2007

The
article includes recipes for Chinese Barbequed Duck, Dungeness Crab
with Dow See, Pineapple Chicken and Peanut Butter Cookies

http://c-h-o-w.blogspot.com

http://www.janicewongstudio.com


Feb 23, 1887 Anti-Chinese Riot Remembered.. .120 years ago today

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Feb 23, 1887 Anti-Chinese Riot Remembered… 120 years ago today

My paternal grandfather Wong Wah, arrived in Canada in 1882 and he
lived in Victoria.  My maternal great-great-grandfather Rev. Chan
Yu Tan, arrived in Canada in 1896, following his elder brother Rev.
Chan Sing Kai, who had come to Canada in 1888 to help found the Chinese
Methodist Church a year after the anti-Chinese 1887 riot.

It's amazing that it took 120 years for Chinese to now be considered
part of Canadian history and contributors to building Canadian
society.  But it wasn't always so… Even as late as the 1950's
and 1960's there was still much systemic racism.

Read the story below about the 1887 Anti-Chinese Riot in Vancouver.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 23,
2007

1887 Anti-Chinese Riot Remembered

TORONTO .
The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) marked the 120th
anniversary today of the anti-Chinese riot that took place in
Vancouver . “We mark this anniversary
today because it is part of our community’s unique history in facing the
overt and often violent manifestation of racial discrimination that resulted in
the Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act,” Sid Tan, National Chairperson of
CCNC said today. “We should all take this opportunity to learn from our
past mistakes, to restore dignity to the direct victims and to re-dedicate
ourselves to a just society built on the foundations of respect and acceptance.”

“We are encouraged by the messages of solidarity from Hon. Jason
Kenney, Secretary
of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity) and the Statement in
the House of Commons by Bill Siksay, M.P. for
Burnaby-Douglas.”

After the 1886
Great Fire razed Vancouver ,
the City leased 60 hectares of forested land to some 100 Chinese. However, this
was the beginning of the Head Tax era, a period of overt racial discrimination
against Chinese Canadians, which was legitimized by racist legislation. Mounting
racist sentiment culminated in a riot on February 23, 1887 when an angry mob of
300 assembled to run the Chinese out of town. They tore down the shanty-town
near Coal
Harbour and
roughed up the Chinese, some of whom managed to escape harm by jumping into the
frigid waters.

Two policemen
invoking the name of ‘Queen Victoria ’
stood their ground in between the mob and the Chinese labourers.
The mob soon retreated but set fire to buildings. The 1887 riot also
sparked a prompt response from police and government officials. The BC Attorney
General introduced An Act for the
Preservation of Peace within the Municipal Limits of the City which
removed police powers from the city and sent over thirty-six special constables
from Victoria ,
B.C. to restore the peace. While the riot ended without any death or serious
injury, it did send a clear message to the Chinese that they were not welcome
and they left Vancouver for
New Westminster , and some moved east to Alberta
and Ontario.The Chinese did eventually return to
Vancouver .

CCNC will work with partners to mark a number of important
anniversaries this year:

February 23, 2007:       120
year anniversary of the Anti-Chinese Riot in
Vancouver

April 17, 2007:               25 year anniversary of Charter of
Rights

May 14, 2007:               60 year anniversary of repeal of
Chinese Exclusion Act

June 10, 2007:               50 year anniversary of election of
Douglas Jung, the first CC MP

June 22, 2007:                 1 year anniversary of
Chinese Head Tax apology

Canada Day, 2007:      140
years of Confederation

September 8, 2007:      100
year anniversary of Anti-Asian Riot in Vancouver

October 1, 2007:            40 years of independent immigration
(points) system

CCNC recently led a delegation to Ottawa to seek inclusive redress for
the head tax families who are excluded from the June 22, 2006 announcement, and
will continue to work collaboratively with other redress-seeking groups to seek
a just and honourable resolution of the Head Tax and
Chinese Exclusion Act.

 

-30-

 

For media interviews, please contact:
Sid Tan, CCNC National Chairperson at (604) 433-6169
Victor Wong, CCNC Executive Director at (416) 977-9871

end

Ottawa ,
February 22, 2007

By Jason Kenney

Secretary of State
(Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity)

Secretary of State Kenney Regrets 120th Anniversary
of Anti-Chinese riot in Vancouver

Jason Kenney, MP, PC, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and
Canadian Identity) sends his personal expressions of regret and solidarity with
Chinese Canadians in Vancouver
on the occasion of the 120th Anniversary of the Anti-Chinese Riot of
1887.

“The Riot of February 23, 1887 is one of the regrettable
episodes in the history of the Chinese in
Canada ,” Kenney said.

“It is also an occasion to recognize the role that our
police have played in maintaining peace, order, and good government. In this
case, police invoked the name of Queen Victoria
to protect the Chinese minority from a violent mob. It’s a reminder that
the Crown is the traditional protector of minorities in our great
country.”

“That a
rioting mob set fire to the private property of Vancouver's Chinese community
this day 120 years ago should serve as a reminder that we should cherish and
uphold a just and tolerant society.”

Information


Tenzin Khangsar

Chief of Staff

Office
of the Secretary of State

(Multiculturalism
and Canadian Identity)

819
934-1122

TLC and Save Joy Kogawa House committee both receive City of Vancouver Heritage Award of Honour

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TLC and Save Joy Kogawa House committee both receive City of Vancouver Heritage Award of Honour

It was a great night for the members of Save Kogawa House Committee and TLC: The Land Conservancy of BC.  We were all honoured with the City of Vancouver Heritage Awards
of Honour.  It was the last award presented following the multiple
recipients for awards of recognition and awards of merit.  
TLC executive director Bill Turner and myself, for Save Kogawa House
Committee, were tagged to give the aceptance speeches.



The awards were held at the beautiful and historic Coastal Church,
at 1160 West Georgia St.  A reception was held from 5:30 to 7pm,
and it was great to see and socialize with all the event's
attendees.  I had a great chat with historian Jean Barman. 
City Councillor Peter Ladner congratulated me on a well-run Gung Haggis
Fat Choy that he attended.  Other City Councillors Heather Deal,
George Chow and Suzanne Anton congratulated us on saving Kogawa House.
Friends Kelly Ip, Howe Lee were there. Parks Commissioner Spencer
Herbert gave me the latest update on his petition to name the new
Vancouver park at Selkirk and 72nd, as David Suzuki Park.  Artist
Raymond Chow and house genealogist James Johnstone were there. 
Dianne Switzer of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation waved to us.



The evening's emcee was Christopher Gaze, creator and director of Bard on the Beach. 
Gaze gave a summation of Vancouver's early arts and cultural history,
accompanied by projected pictures.  It started with the first
piano arriving in 1851, and included great names and performances such
as Nijinksky, Boris Karloff and Benny Goodman, as well as local
luminaries such as Dal Richards and Jimmy Pattison. This “introduction”
to the awards event finished with a musical performance by Destino, the four tenors “popera” group.



Vancouver
Mayor Sam Sullivan came to the stage to welcome and thank all the
nominees.  Mayor Sullivan handed out the award certificates, after
Gaze read descriptions of each of the award winning projects.


Todd Wong (Save Kogawa House
Committee) and Bill Turner (TLC) accepted the certificates from
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan for the Vancouver Heritage Award of Honour
– photo Deb Martin




Here is the draft of the acceptance speech which I presented at the Vancouver Heritage Awards:

Once
upon a time, 6 year old Naomi Nakane was told to pack for a train
vacation with her brother Stephen.  But it wasn’t a
vacation.  And the train took them far away from the house that
they loved.  They would never ever again live in a house as nice
or as loved.  They would learn that as Canadians of Japanese
ancestry… they were being singled out, removed from the West Coast,
interned in former ghost-towns as make-shift camps, have their houses,
businesses and property left behind confiscated and sold by the
government, and then given an option to “repatriate” to Japan or move
East away from the coast, because the government and community leaders
did not want them trying to reclaim their former property.  They
were dispersed across Canada like the blowing snow.

That is the fictional story of Joy Kogawa’s award winning books Obasan and Naomi’s Road.

Joy’s
real story is that after they were interned, as a little girl, she
would dream about their house.  She would write letters to the
occupants of the house, asking politely if someday, when they no longer
wanted the house, if they could buy it back.

The little girl –
Joy Kogawa grew up to become one of Canada’s most important
writers.  Her first novel Obasan was the first major Canadian
fiction to address with Japanese Canadian internment.  It later
became a children’s story Naomi’s Road.

On later visits she
discovered that the house, her childhood home was still standing. 
Attempts in 2002 to raise money to purchase the house, was thwarted
when the house was sold to an overseas owner.

2005 was the year
of Joy Kogawa.  Vancouver Public Library chose Obasan as the 2005
selection for One Book One Vancouver.  Vancouver Opera premiered a
45 minute opera based on Naomi’s Road to tour to BC Schools.

And
during a week when Joy’s work was being celebrated all across the city,
at Word On The Street, Vancouver Arts Awards, and by Asian Canadian
Writer’s Workshop…. We learned that the demolition permit was being
applied for.


This house was saved.

This
house was saved by poets, writers, film makers, human rights activists,
historians, and visionaries.  From people all across Canada. 
From Canadians abroad – We heard from Sweden and Japan and USA

This
house is for all Vancouverites, and for Canadians and global citizens
who care about Canadian history. Culture and human rights.

Anton
Wagner, Ann-Marie and I, are not Japanese-Canadians.  We weren’t
interned.  We aren’t married into JC families.  But we are
concerned Canadians who love our history, culture and heritage.

There
is little in Vancouver to celebrate our Japanese Canadian, Asian
Canadian pioneer heritage in Vancouver.  We need to recognize our
Asian-Canadian pioneers and our centuries long heritage.

Vancouver’s
literary landmarks are a Robbie Burns Statue and Pauline Johnson
memorial in Stanley Park.  Kogawa House gives us something
contempoary.  It lives and breathes with each reading of Obasan,
each performance of Naomi’s Road.

Millions of people visit
Amsterdam to visit Anne Frank House.  Millions of people visit
Prince Edward Island to see the home of Anne of Green Gables.  But
Anne Shirley was fictional.  Joy Kogawa is real.  And Joy’s
stories continue to tell the history and the culture of Canadians.

With
a Kogawa House Writing Centre, we can continue to celebrated Joy’s
works, and the history of Japanese Canadians.  We can also
encourage writers to share their stories and help write our future
story of Canada – hopefully one free of racism and internment camps.


We wish to thank:.

Gerry
McGeough and Hugh McLean, of the City’s Heritage Planning department
who first communicated with Anton Wagner about the demolition. Hugh was
responding to an Attention Read Note that former heritage planner Terry
Brunette had placed on the Kogawa House property listing in the City’s
planning department. Gerry was very helpful in drafting an
unprecedented motion to delay approval of a demolition permit for 120
days]

Heather Redfern of the Vancouver Alliance for Arts and
Culture, Marion Quednau of the Writers Union of Canada, and Diane
Switzer for speaking on our behalf to Vancouver City Council on
November 3, 2005

Diane Switzer and Vancouver Heritage Foundation
[For first coming to Vancouver City Hall to meet with Terry Brunette in
October 2003 and then connecting us with TLC The Land Conservancy after
we had won the 120-day delay]

Jim Green and Sen. Larry Campbell
for declaring Joy Kogawa Obasan Day for city Hall, for giving the first
public announcment and telling the audience at Vancouver Arts Awards
about the need to save the house.

Chris Kurata in Toronto for organizing to stop the demolition
and creating the first Kogawa House website.

Roy Miki – for always being there for consultation and readings.

Margaret Atwood and Paul Yee – for their valued quotes.

James Johnston – for his early genealogy of 1450 West 64th Ave.

Ellen Woodsworth – for their early help prepping us for City Hall Council meeting

City Councilors Suzanne Anton and Heather Deal, whom we first contacted as Park Commissioners.

Raymond Chow – for creating a painting of Joy as a child at the house circa 1941

The
2005 Vancouver City Council for passing a unamimous decision to delay
processing of the demolition permit [and making donations out of their
pocket that day to launch fundraising]

Literary and Writing Assocations across Canada for their early and continuing support

Writers Union of Canada,
the Federation of BC Writers,
the Playwrights Guild of Canada,
the Canadian Authors Association,
the Periodical Writers Association of Canada,
PEN Canada,
the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival,
Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers
The League of Canadian Poets and The Writers' Trust of Canada
and the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop.

The project has also been endorsed by the Vancouver Public Library
Board, Vancouver Opera, the Alliance for Arts and Culture, Heritage
Vancouver, the Land Conservancy, the National Nikkei Museum and
Heritage Centre, and the National Association of Japanese Canadians.
[Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Association of Book Publishers of BC]

VPL's
One Book One Vancouver Program & Vancouver Opera's “Naomi's Road”
for really raising the awareness of Joy Kogawa and her work.

Thomsett
School – for the children creating their own initiatives to save the
house, writing letters to Vancouver City Council, and meeting with
councillor Kim Capri. [Joan Young and her Grades 3 and 4 class at
Thomsett Elementary in Richmond, and her principal Sabina Harpe, for
motivating these children to take part in the campaign]

The
Reverend Val Anderson, former MLA for Vancouver-Langara, who took a
special interest in the project because of his connections to the
Japanese Canadian community in Marpole

The Honorable Ujjal Dosanjh, who spoke on behalf of Kogawa House in Parliament on April 6

Our wonderful anonymous donor (who came to the rescue when TLC was prepared to purchase the house with a mortgage).

TLC
– for stepping into the project to take over the fundraising and the
nitty gritty details that we had no experience handling.  Bill
Turner, executive director their team of Tamsin Baker, Heather Skydt
and the many board members.


our dedicated members and volunteers of Kogawa House Committee:

Anton Wagner, Chris Kurata, Margaret Steffler, Tomoko 
Makabe and Kathy Chung in Ontario.


Ann-Marie Metten, David Kogawa, Ellen Crowe-Swords, Richard Hopkins,
Jen Kato, Joan Young,  Sabina Harpe, Deb Martin, and Harry Aoki in
Vancouver.

Also . . . journalists including Alexandra Gill and
Rod Mickleburgh of the Globe and Mail, Sandra Thomas of the Vancouver
Courier; Kate Taylor and Michael Posner in the Globe and Mail; Barbara
Wickens in Maclean's Magazine; CBC radio's Paul Grant, Sheryl Mackay
for their stories; and to Kathryn Gretsinger and her producer Rosemary
Allenbach, who broadcast Joy’s appeal to rescue her home on a Boxing
Day broadcast of “Sounds Like Canada.”


CBC News: Expand head-tax payments, Chinese group says

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Expand head-tax payments, Chinese group says

Last Updated: Monday, February 19, 2007 | 7:13 PM ET

CBC
News

The federal government should expand head-tax payments to
include families of the Chinese immigrants who paid the tax, the Chinese
Canadian National Council said Monday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced last June
that the government would make “symbolic” head-tax payments of
$20,000 to roughly 400 people who paid the tax, or their widows. He also made
a formal apology to Chinese Canadians.

But now the Chinese-Canadian group wants the
payments extended to cover roughly 3,000 families who paid the tax. It wants to
meet the government to discuss expanding the payments.

“We are hopeful that the Canadian government will
build on the partial achievements last year,” Colleen Hua, president,
said in a recent posting on the council's website. “We call on Prime
Minister Harper to restore dignity to all head-tax families and extend payments
to those families where the head-tax payer and spouse have both passed
away.”

The tax, a discriminatory measured aimed only at Chinese
immigrants, was imposed from 1885 to 1923, while the Dominion of
Newfoundland had a similar tax between 1906 and 1949, before it joined Confederation.

It was imposed to deter Chinese immigration after
Chinese workers helped finish the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885.

The tax started at $50 per person in 1885 and rose to $500 per person in 1903,
equal to as much as two years' salary.

After it was withdrawn in 1923, the head tax was replaced
by the Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from the country
altogether until 1947.

With files from the Canadian
Press

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/02/19/head-tax.html

Canadian Press: Families owed head-tax reparations, activists say

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Families owed head-tax reparations, activists say

Chinese-Canadian group wants settlement expanded beyond
surviving immigrants

MARIA BABBAGE

Canadian Press

TORONTO — The federal government should
provide compensation to the families of Chinese immigrants who paid a
discriminatory head tax, a group of Chinese-Canadian activists said yesterday.

Currently, only surviving head-tax payers or their
spouses are eligible to claim a $20,000 settlement from the Conservative
government, which formally apologized last June for the head tax and the
subsequent 24-year ban on immigration from
China .

But compensation should be extended to the families of
deceased head-tax payers who also suffered as a result of the policy, the
Chinese Canadian National Council said.

That could expand the number of Chinese-Canadian
families eligible for the redress from 500 to 3,000, the group estimates.

NDP MP Olivia Chow and the group have asked to meet
with the government to address the issue.

But Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney wouldn't
commit to negotiations, saying the government maintains an “open
dialogue” with the Chinese-Canadian community.

“The government's made its decision on redress,
and I don't see the cabinet reconsidering that,” he said in an interview
from Ottawa .
“But there's always room for creative thoughts.”

About 81,000 immigrants paid the head tax, which was
imposed on Chinese immigrants entering
Canada from 1885 until 1923. The
tax was set at $50 when it was first imposed in 1885, and in 1903 it rose to
$500 — the equivalent of two years wages.

Newfoundland also imposed a head tax from 1906
to 1949, ending in the year it joined Confederation.

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the formal
apology last summer, Chinese-Canadian groups had hoped the government would
also compensate first-generation children of the head-tax payers.

But the government decided to limit it to those most
directly affected, Mr. Kenney said.

The activists argue that
Canada 's policies toward Chinese
immigrants caused their children to suffer as well, dividing families across
continents and leaving many in poverty while the immigrants struggled to pay
off debts incurred by the tax.

Doug Hum said it took his father and uncle more than
10 years to pay off the $1,000 debt they incurred to cover the head taxes they
paid upon arriving in Canada
in 1912.

They managed to save enough money to return to
China and marry, but couldn't bring their wives
to Canada
under the Exclusion Act, which came into effect in 1923.

“There is a grievous injustice here,” Mr.
Hum said.

“The tax belongs to the families, and it should
be returned. Whole families were affected. Many had to beg, borrow from other
family members to get here.”

While the government acknowledges their suffering, Mr.
Kenney said it had to “draw the line somewhere” when deciding on a
compensation package.

“Part of our concern, quite frankly, is that many
families in this country have suffered hardship or injustice or discrimination,
and we don't want to create social divisions where people start comparing or
compensating each other through their tax dollars for the sufferings of their
parents or grandparents,” he said.

“We are concerned that could undermine social
cohesion in this country, and we want this whole experience of redress for the
Chinese head tax to be a unifying and educational experience.”

Mr. Kenney also said the council's position on
compensating families of head-tax payers isn't representative of the majority
of the Chinese-Canadian community.

In addition to the apology and compensation package,
Mr. Kenney said the government plans to honour the memory of head-tax
immigrants by spending at least $2.5-million on a program to educate Canadians
about that period of history.

The money is part of a $24-million fund the government
announced last June to establish a historical recognition program to provide
grants and contributions to communities for commemorative projects dealing with
past immigration restrictions and war measures that affected many segments of
the population.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070220.HEADTAX20/TPStory/National

 

Families seek head tax settlement

A
group of Chinese- Canadians says the tax affected entire families.
By CP

TORONTO — The federal
government should provide compensation to the families of Chinese immigrants
who paid a discriminatory head tax, a group of Chinese- Canadian activists said
yesterday.

Currently,
only surviving head-tax payers or their spouses are eligible to claim a $20,000
settlement from the Conservative government, which formally apologized last
June for the tax and the subsequent 24-year ban on immigration from
China .

But
compensation should be extended to the families of deceased head-tax payers who
also suffered as a result of the policy, said the Chinese Canadian National
Council.

That
could expand the number of Chinese-Canadian families eligible for the redress
from 500 to 3,000, the group estimates.

NDP
MP Olivia Chow and the group have asked to meet with the government to address
the issue.

But
Jason Kenney, the secretary of state for multiculturalism, wouldn't commit to
negotiations, saying the government maintains an “open dialogue” with
the Chinese-Canadian community.

“The
government's made its decision on redress and I don't see the cabinet
reconsidering that,” he said in an interview from
Ottawa . “But there's always room for
creative thoughts.”

About
81,000 immigrants paid the head tax, which was imposed on Chinese immigrants
entering Canada
from 1885 until 1923. The tax was set at $50 when it was first imposed in 1885
and in 1903 it rose to $500 — the equivalent of two years' wages.
Newfoundland also
imposed a head tax from 1906 to 1949, the year it joined Confederation.

When
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the formal apology last summer,
Chinese-Canadian groups had hoped the government would also compensate first-
generation children of the head-tax payers.

But
the government decided to limit it to those most directly affected, Kenney
said.

The
activists argue that Canada 's
immigration policies towards Chinese immigrants caused their children to suffer
as well, dividing families across continents and leaving many in poverty while
the immigrants struggled to pay off debts incurred by the tax.

“The
tax belongs to the families and it should be returned,” said Doug Hum.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/National/2007/02/20/pf-3647064.html

Globe & Mail: Ottawa urged to expand head-tax redress

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Ottawa urged to expand head-tax redress

TABASSUM SIDDIQUI

Globe and Mail update

TORONTO
— The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) is calling for an
expansion of the current federal redress program for Chinese immigrants who
paid a discriminatory head tax upon entry into Canada.At a press conference
Monday in Toronto, members of the council and the Ontario Coalition of Head Tax
Payers and Families said the families of those who paid the head tax should be
eligible for compensation.

Currently, only surviving head-tax payers and their
spouses can claim the $20,000 settlement announced by the government in June
2006.

“We have formed a consensus right across
Canada
… that the redress is not complete,” said CCNC executive director
Victor Wong.

“The head tax impacted on the entire family
– this is the concept that the government fails to understand.”

The council says that as many as 3,000 families are
excluded from the federal payments, which began after Prime Minister Stephen
Harper made a formal apology to Chinese-Canadians last June for the head tax
that was imposed on Chinese immigrants entering
Canada from 1885 to 1923.

NDP MP Olivia Chow put forth a private members' motion
Feb. 14 in the House of Commons urging the government to recognize that the
redress agreement is incomplete and to commit to negotiations with families of
head-tax payers to offer them similar compensation to that of payers' spouses.

“What's happened is that only 5 per cent –
that is, the head tax payers and spouse – receive redress,” Ms.
Chow told the press conference via telephone from
Ottawa , speaking in English and Cantonese.
“Given that a year ago the Prime Minister promised to have complete
redress and an apology, and so far, only the apology and a partial redress [has
happened]…. We need to impress upon them that justice is not done as
yet.”

Ms. Chow suggested that the matter could develop into
a hot-button issue during the next federal election.

Several direct descendents of head-tax payers spoke of
the hardship suffered by their families as a result of the discriminatory
practice.

Student Eric Yam, 14, a second-generation
Chinese-Canadian, never knew his grandparents. His grandfather arrived in
Canada in 1923 and was sent to a detention
centre in Victoria
when he couldn't pay all of the head tax. After marrying in
China in 1930, Yam's grandfather had to leave
his wife and daughter behind upon returning to
Canada due to the Chinese Exclusion
Act of 1923. Tam's father was born years later, but had to quit school at 17 to
support his aging parents.

“The only memory I have of them is the suffering
they faced,” Mr. Yam said. “Even after all these years, the effect
of the head tax is still being felt. My father never got to go to school.
First-generation sons and daughters should receive a refund from the federal
government – it is only fair.”

Educator Rebecca Tam broke down in tears explaining
how her mother never met her own father, who couldn't afford to bring his
family to Canada
thanks to the head tax. Ms. Tam expressed surprise at how
“speedily” Ottawa dealt with the
case of Maher Arar, the Canadian who was imprisoned and tortured in
Syria
for nearly a year.

“The government is paying lip service to the
descendents of head tax victims,” Ms. Tam said. “Chinese-Canadians
are once again being sidelined. Mr. Arar, one person, suffered for one year …
in the Chinese community, we had 80,000 head-tax payers and their families who
suffered.”

Binh Chow, co-vice-chair of the Ontario Coalition of
Head Tax Payers and Families (OCHTPF), noted that the $23-million in head taxes
paid by Chinese immigrants is worth billions today even without factoring in
accumulation of interest. As for government concerns that extending redress to
families of head-tax payers would open the floodgates for applications, Mr.
Chow said only those descendents born after 1947, when the exclusion act was repealed,
would be eligible.

Over 80,000 immigrants paid the head tax, which ranged
from $50 to $500 over the years. Newfoundland
also imposed a head tax from 1906 to 1949, the year it joined Confederation.

Chinese-Canadians have been lobbying the government for
the past two decades, with over 4000 families registering with the CCNC since
1984.

About 500 families are eligible for compensation under
the current government plan, but thousands more have turned in head-tax
certificates and other paperwork that could serve as documentation for any
claims, Mr. Wong said, adding that the coalition hasn't yet determined what
they think the exact criteria for eligibility should be, but is keen to enter
discussions with the government.

But Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney wouldn't
commit to negotiations, saying the government maintains an “open
dialogue” with the Chinese-Canadian community.

“The government's made its decision on redress,
and I don't see the cabinet reconsidering that,” he told Canadian Press.

While the government acknowledges the suffering of
Chinese families, Mr. Kenney said it had to “draw the line
somewhere” when deciding on a compensation package.

“Part of our concern, quite frankly, is that
many families in this country have suffered hardship or injustice or
discrimination, and we don't want to create social divisions where people start
comparing or compensating each other through their tax dollars for the
sufferings of their parents or grandparents,” he said.

But the Chinese experience is “unique,”
said Maria Chan, vice-president of the Chinese Community Centre of Ontario.

“It was the role that the Chinese played that
made Canada
possible,” said co-vice-chair Doug Hum of the OCHTPF, referring to how
Chinese workers helped build the national railroad. “The tax belongs to
the families and it should be returned. Whole families were affected. Many had
to beg, borrow from other family members to get here.”

With files from Canadian
Press

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070219.wheadtax0219/BNStory/National/home

 

Politicians are pigs… Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff, Hilary Clinton…

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Politicians are pigs… Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff, Hilary Clinton…

Well, born in the year of… 
Here are some stories about politicians and the Year of the Pig.

February 17, 2007
Chinese in hog heaven
PM joins Year of the Pig party

By BRIAN GRAY, SUN MEDIA

Toronto
's Chinese community marked the coming lunar new year last night,
kicking off a festival with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on hand to
extend wishes of good health and good fortune.

Harper told
several hundred people gathered at the Automotive Building at the CNE
for the Toronto Celebrates the Lunar New Year that he is looking
forward to the Year of the Pig.

“I have a particular reason to
celebrate because I was born during the Year of the Pig,” Harper told
the crowd, remarking that he shared some of the traditional
characteristics — honest, direct and patient — of people born in that
year.

“But I must admit I'm not always a patient man. I have particular frustration with the Opposition in the minority parliament.”

Many
of the people at the festival said they were there to show their
appreciation for Harper's apology last June for the head tax that was
imposed on Chinese immigrants to Canada in the early 20th century.

“We
are very thankful that he said this was wrong,” said Michael Wong, who
brought his two young children just so they could see the prime
minister in person.

“I would really like to thank him personally
for what he has done and I know it would be important to some of the
people in my family who are not alive today,” Wong said. “So I have
brought my son and my daughter instead.”

Harper met with festival organizers and other VIPs before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Then,
along with Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian
Identity Jason Kenny and MP Wajid Khan, participated in the traditional
dotting of the dragon's eye and officially starting the festival.

“It
makes for a very good end to this year and a good start to next year to
have these important people here to celebrate with us,” said Nancy Lam,
visiting from Hong Kong during this festive season.

 

http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2007/02/17/pf-3640291.html

 

 

February 17, 2007
They're all … pigs
Those born in this Chinese zodiac sign are quick-tempered and stubborn, but also lucky

By SHARON LEM, SUN MEDIA

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a pig.

True,
Harper has been called worse by some of his opponents. But if you're a
Liberal supporter, don't get too cocky because star MP Michael
Ignatieff is also a pig.

Both high-profile politicians were born in the Chinese year of the pig, which starts tomorrow.

In fact, politics and pigs seem to have a lot in common.

Former
Canadian prime minister Kim Campbell, U.S. Democratic presidential
candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, and former U.S. presidents Ronald
Reagan, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson are all pigs.

“I'm
not sure why politics and pigs seem to mix, but with a possible
election year and with Ignatieff and Harper born as pigs, it should
make for an interesting political scene,” said historian Dora Nip of
the Multicultural History Society of Ontario.

The year of the
pig heralds a year of contentment, security, optimism and signifies
good fortune, kindness, honesty and tolerance, Nip said.

Harper
has been courting the Chinese community, making a public apology over a
head tax on Chinese at the turn of the century and appearing at the
opening of Phase 2 of the Chinese Cultural Centre in Scarborough last
year. He has also had a few missteps, including a snub by the Chinese
prime minister over human rights issues.

But this is no ordinary
pig year; it's believed to be the year of the Golden Pig, which only
comes around every 600 years. Babies born this year are thought to be
especially lucky.

Pigs are thought to be extremely fortunate animals in China since they tend to eat and sleep all day.

Celebrations
in Canada start in earnest today on New Year's Eve. Toronto 's
400,000-strong Chinese community is one of the largest in North America
.

FIVE CHINATOWNS

Events will range from the ritzy
$500-a-plate Dragon Ball today, attended by a who's who of political
leaders and corporate Canada to festive events in any of the city's
five Chinatowns .

People born in 1911, '23, '35, '47, '59, '71,
'83, '95, and 2007 are born under the zodiac sign of the pig. The
zodiac is based on the five elements of water, fire, wood, metal and
earth, and the traditional calendar's 12-year rotating cycle of
animals: Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey,
rooster, dog and pig.

Each animal has its own characteristics, believed to define both the year and people born in it.

In
that case, pigs are quick-tempered and stubborn — which could describe
a lot of politicians, including Harper. But they're also loyal,
trustworthy and kind to their loved ones.

According to the
ancient calendar, 2007 will be year 4705. It begins on the first day of
the new year in the traditional Chinese calendar, starting tomorrow
through Feb. 6, 2008, which is based on both the lunar and solar cycles.

Harper said he's going to be celebrating.

“I have reason to celebrate it too because I was born in 1959, also the year of the pig.

“I'd like to offer my warmest greetings to all Chinese-Canadians as you welcome the year of the pig,” Harper said.

“The
Chinese New Year has become an important part of the Canadian cultural
landscape, which tells us just how big a role this community plays in
modern Canada .

“That role is rooted in a long history — from
your ancestors' involvement in the building of the national railway in
the 19th century, to full participation in every aspect of community
life today,” he said.

“Chinese Canadians have shaped this
wonderful country we all call home. Our shared history was marred by
the injustice of the head tax. I am proud that last year our new
government finally dealt with this issue, so we could all move forward
into the future together and leave the past behind.”

Harper is known as an earth pig.

“Earth
pigs are kindly in nature and like to please employers and go to great
lengths to secure his or her aims and ambitions and they have a
tendency to eat and drink more than they should,” Nip said.

Ignatieff, one of Harper's biggest rivals in government, said he's looking forward to the new year.

“As
a fire pig, I look forward to what promises to be an exceptional year.
I wish all pigs and non-pigs alike a memorably happy year to come,”
Ignatieff said.

“Fire pigs are energetic, adventurous and
pleasure-seekers. They carry themselves in resolute manners and they
are generous and quick to support a worthy cause, but they can get
carried away by the excitement of the moment and are capable of
outstanding acts of heroism. But when they are determined on an
objective, it is almost impossible to sway them from it,” Nip said.

Oddly
enough, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion is born in the year of the sheep
and sheep are most compatible and become best friends with pigs.

DALAI LAMA

More
famous Canadians born in the year of the pig include rock star Bryan
Adams, Tom Green, Sandra Oh, Paul Gross, painter Stanley Cosgrove,
Olympic gold medallist Jennifer Heil, Toronto Maple Leafs Mats Sundin
and Matt Stajan, Ottawa Senators centre Jason Spezza and Formula One
racer Jacques Villeneuve.

Other famous pigs include the Dalai
Lama, leader of the Chinese KMT Chiang-Kai Shek, Ford founder Henry
Ford, Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee
Williams, Alfred Hitchcock, David Letterman and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Spezza said his only wish for the new year “is pretty easy — a Stanley Cup.”

“The
year of the pig?” Spezza said with a huge chuckle. “That one comes out
of left field. But, it's nice to be in the company of someone like the
prime minister.”

Both Sundin and Stajan were unaware they were members of The Year Of The Pig fraternity.

So what would they like the new year to bring?

“The most important thing is to make the playoffs,” Sundin said. “And to win a championship, that's the ultimate goal.”

Stajan agreed.

“I
want what everyone in Toronto wants to see — a winning team here,” he
said. “We want to make the playoffs and then make a run at (the Stanley
Cup). We're going to do everything we can to see that happen.”

Leading
up to New Year's Eve, rituals include family reunions with large
dinners, gifts of money placed in red envelopes, firecrackers to ward
off evil spirits, lion dances and a lantern festival.

” Toronto
's vibrant and thriving Chinese community plays an incredibly important
role in making this city the most diverse and cosmopolitan in the
world,” said Mayor David Miller.

“I'm proud and pleased that so
many Chinese-Canadians call Toronto home and I want to wish everyone
the very best for a safe, healthy and prosperous new year!”

http://torontosun.com/News/OtherNews/2007/02/17/pf-40289.html

Gung Hay Fat Choy – It's the year of the Pig! Norman Tom receives head tax payment in time for Chinese New Year!

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Gung Hay Fat Choy – It's the year of the Pig!
Norman Tom receives head tax payment in time for Chinese New Year!

Here are some happy stories to start off the new year.
Mr. Norman Tom recieved a ex-gratia payment for his head tax certificate.

 

image

人頭稅苦主譚燿煖（左）與太太（中）昨日在聯邦多元文化國務部長肯尼(右)手中接過2萬元的賠償支票。（王詠瑜攝）

放大

 

image

February
18, 2007

Happy end to
head tax

Chinese
Canadian gets $20,000

 

By JACK BOLAND, SUN MEDIA


TORONTO — It
is a Chinese New Year Norman Tom and his family will remember forever.

Tom, 78,
supported by his wife Jean, their three children and several grandchildren,
smiled as he was presented yesterday — on the eve of the Year of the Pig —
with an apology, handshake and cheque for $20,000 as
he became the 38th Chinese head-tax payer to receive redress from the Canadian
government.

“I
am very happy. I feel wonderful. It is a happy ending,” said Tom, after he
was presented with the cheque from MP Jason Kenney,
Secretary of State, Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity.

Tom said
he would hand over all the money to his family and two seniors' organizations
he belongs to.

“That
is the kind of man my dad is,” said Wilman Tom.

The head
tax was imposed on Chinese immigrants to
Canada in 1885.

What
started out as a $50 tax became $500 in 1904 before being repealed in 1923. A total of 81,000 Chinese immigrants paid head taxes worth $23
million. To date, 380 applications have been received and are at various
stages of the assessment process.

The
Chinese Canadian National Council believes descendants of head tax payers
should also receive redress cheques.

 

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2007/02/18/pf-3642974.html

 

News Release Banner

Canada's New Government Provides Ex gratia Payments

TORONTO, February 17, 2007 – On behalf of the Honourable Beverley
J. Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, the Honourable Jason Kenney, Secretary of State,
Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, today presented a redress payment of
$20,000 to Mr. Norman Tom in Toronto .

“I am proud that Canada 's
New Government continues to fulfill its commitment to Chinese Head Tax payers
by providing this symbolic payment,” said Minister Oda. “With the
delivery of ex gratia payments to living Head Tax payers, we are taking
recognizing past hardships and contributing to healing in the Chinese
Canadian community.”

In presenting the cheque, Mr. Kenney said, ”
Canada 's New
Government is moving quickly on making the ex gratia symbolic payments
because we are committed to strengthening the sense of inclusion of Chinese
Canadians and their full participation in Canadian society.”

An official apology to Chinese Canadians for the Head Tax was made by Prime
Minister Stephen Harper on June 22, 2006, on behalf of the Government of
Canada. To date, applications from 44 Head Tax payers have been received by
the Department of Canadian Heritage and payments have been made to 37 of
them.

The application process for ex gratia symbolic payments for individuals who
were in a conjugal relationship with a Head Tax payer who is now deceased was
launched on December 1, 2006. To date, 380 applications have been received by
the Department and are at various stages of the assessment process. It is
expected that eligible applicants will begin to receive their cheques in the near future.

The Head Tax was imposed on Chinese immigrants entering
Canada from
1885 to 1923. A similar tax existed in the Dominion of Newfoundland between
1906 and 1949, before the province entered Confederation.

Information:

Donald Boulanger
A/Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819 994-9101


http://www.pch.gc.ca/newsroom/index_e.cfm?fuseaction=displayDocument&DocIDCd=CJK061610

 

Radio Canada International: I am interviewed for Monday!

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Radio Canada International:  I am interviewed for Monday Feb 19!

Earlier this week on Wednesday Feb 15th, I was interviewed for Radio Canada International's program The Link.  This is a program “linking new immigrants to Canada and Canada to the world.”

The
show on Monday will feature a panel discussion with three
Chinese-Canadians discussing how they celebrate Chinese New Year. 

I am the multigenerational CC who has rediscovered Chinese New
Year as a way to celebrate my Chinese ancestry.  As well, I
celebrate Lunar New Year with innovative ways such as combining it with
Scottish traditions like Robbie Burns Day.

There is a woman born
in Beijing, but has been in Canada for 22 years.  She is married
to a non-Chinese, and no longer “celebrates” Chinese New Year.

John
Wong is an older man who came to Canada many years ago, and he
regularly celebrates with traditional foods and customs (which my
family no longer does).

CHINESE HEAD TAX:
You can also listen to The Link's Friday's show which interviewed my friend Victor Wong.
A group of Chinese Canadians gathered in Ottawa
yesterday to seek compensation for the Chinese Head Tax and the Chinese
Exclusion Act. Between 1885 and 1923, Canada charged a landing fee of
up to 500 dollars to more than 80 thousand Chinese immigrants then
banned immigration from China completely until 1947. Victor Wong is the
executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council. He was in
Ottawa Thursday.

Chinese Head Tax: Chan was missing… now Chan is found and demanding an apology…

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Chinese Head Tax: Chan was missing… now Chan is found and demanding an apology…

Where
has Raymond Chan been during the Head Tax apology?  Why did he NOT
congratulate the head tax redress groups for being able to receive what
he and his government could not give them. 

Why has he
NOT been criticizing the government for leaving hundreds of thousands
of Chinese head tax descendants out in the cold, while less than 0.6%
of head tax certificates are recognized and honoured with symbolic
redress payments?

Why did Raymond Chan NOT seek the 2nd legal
opinion that David Emerson, Stephen Owen and Ujjal Dosanjh were able to
find?  I spoke to Ujjal during the Dec 2005 campaign, and he said
that an apology in Parliament would cost nothing, and there would be no
liability. 

During the Dec 2005 election campaign –
Raymond apologized to me personally for not being able to give what we
were asking for – apology + one payment per certificate.

The
Liberals such as Chan and Hedy Fry were blindly following previous 1994
policy decisions of Sheila Finestone who said “We wish we could rewrite
history. We wish we could relive the past. We cannot…We believe our
only choice lies in using limited government resources to create a more
equitable society now and a better future for generations to come.
Therefore, the government will not grant financial compensation for the
requests made.”

Finestone said that statememt because cabinet
would not pay compensation… All the head tax money that had been
collected… had already long been spent.

Our government should NOT profit from racism.

Cabinets
change, Governments change, Ministers change.  It takes political
will and leadership to make the decisions that resulted in the 1988
Japanese Canadian Redress, even though they went through a number of
ministers to get it done.

The Conservatives are in power now
(albeit in a minority govt), and Jason Kenney is the new Secretary of
State for Multiculturalism (Raymond Chan's old post).  Kenney has
been going through files and memos and recetnly stated that Chan misled
the public about the liabilities of head tax redress.  Chan said
Kenney is wrong and has since demanded Kenny apologize to him.

 


Chan demands apology from Tory minister

Peter O'Neil

Vancouver Sun

Thursday, February 15, 2007
OTTAWA
— Former Liberal multiculturalism minister Raymond Chan rose in Parliament
today to demand an apology from a Conservative minister who accused Chan of
misleading Chinese-Canadians on the head tax controversy.
He
directed his appeal to Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney, who alleged in
the House of Commons last year that Chan was falsely warning Canadians that a
head tax apology would expose the federal government to potential costly
lawsuits.
Chan
has cited internal documents obtained by The Vancouver Sun, dating from
mid-2004 to early 2006, after the Conservatives formed government, warning of potential legal problems.
“The
minister of multiculturalism must come clean and apologize to this House, to
Canadians and in particular to the Chinese-Canadian community for misleading
them,” Chan ( Richmond )
said in a statement.
Kenney,
who said earlier this week he had no intention of apologizing, couldn’t
be reached for comment.
Chan,
in a telephone conference call, said later he and the Liberal party now support
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology and promise to provide $20,000 cheques to surving payers of the
racist head tax. The same payments are also going to widows of deceased payers.
Chan
said he always tried to develop a “collective” position, and noted
that Tory MPs Inky Mark and Bev Oda both supported the former Liberal
government’s refusal to apologize and offer individual redress.
He
said all four parties are backing redress now even though there still are legal
concerns that other ethnic groups, as well as Chinese-Canadians not eligible
for the redress cheques, could use the policy to file
challenges under the Charter of Rights.
“If
everybody can handle that legal issue I don’t have to be opposing to that
decision,” Chan said.
“That
concern is always been there. I think that people are making decisions with
that in their mind.”
Kenney,
when he was Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s parliamentary secretary last
year, rose in the House of Commons to denounce Chan’s stated refusal to
apologize because of legal concerns.
“That
was the excuse, but we have since discovered, according to Access to
Information, that he received exactly the opposite advice,” Kenney said
in May, 2006, a month before the Conservative government apologized and offered
$20,000 cheques to surviving head tax payers or the
widows of deceased head tax payers.
Kenney
cited a 2004 Canadian Heritage briefing note to Chan which listed numerous
groups, including Chinese Canadians, that might seek redress measures similar
to the $422 million package given in 1988 to  victims
of the Second World War policy of interning Japanese-Canadians.
The
note stated that any claims by other ethnic groups under the Charter of Rights
for equal treatment “would have to demonstrate close parallels to the
Japanese Canadians case in order to be successful,” wrote Judith LaRocque.
“It
appears that, from a legal point of view, none of the outstanding claims would
meet this burden.”
Kenney, asked by a fellow Tory MP if Chan
had his “facts straight” on legal issues relating to head tax
redress, told MPs: “I think the member of
Richmond should apologize to Chinese
Canadians for not telling –“
(Kenney
was cut off by the Speaker before finishing his sentence.)
Chan
said today that Kenney mis-read the 2004 briefing
note.